[Pneumococcal meningitis in the infantile population of Cantabria].

A retrospective study of pneumococcal meningitis was carried out. This study included 22 cases of this illness that occurred in 17 pediatric patients in Cantabria between 1977 and 1990, inclusive. Three children suffered from recurrent meningitis. The age range of the patients was 0.3-14 years, with a mean age of 4 years. Of these cases, 77.4% occurred in the winter or spring. In 14 cases of meningitis (63.6%), corresponding to 9 patients, underlying pathology was observed: cranial fracture, occipital dermoid cyst, splenectomy, congenital cardiopathy, epilepsy and gastroduodenal "situs inversus". The isolated pneumococci were found to be resistant to penicillin and chloramphenicol in 4 cases. One patient suffered from septic shock. The outcome was complete recovery in 19 cases (86.4%), recovery with sequelae (deafness and epilepsy, respectively) in 2 cases (9.1%) and death in another 2 cases. CSF protein levels elevated above 150 mg/dl and the absence of glucose in the CSF were found to be the most useful analytical indicators of the seriousness of the illness.