Sequelae after bacterial meningitis in childhood

The neurological outcome of bacterial meningitis in children was evaluated retrospectively. Data were obtained from a large study on children aged between 1 month and 15 y who initially visited the emergency department of Sophia Children's Hospital, Rotterdam, The Netherlands with meningeal signs. This study presents data from 103 patients in whom bacterial meningitis was diagnosed. Neisseria meningitidis was the dominant pathogen of meningitis. We found a 2% case-fatality rate in children with bacterial meningitis and a 13% rate of sequelae among survivors: 7% hearing impairment and 7% neurological sequelae. Children with bacterial meningitis caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae and those with acute focal neurological symptoms tended to have the worst prognosis.