Jawaid Amna, Bano Surriya, Haque Anwar Ul, Arif Khubaib
Department of Emergency Medicine, The Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi.
Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, The Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi.
J Coll Physicians Surg Pak. 2016 Aug;26(8):716-7.
Meningitis is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide in intensive care settings. The aim of this study was to assess the frequency and outcome in children with meningitis through a retrospective chart review done in pediatric intensive care unit of a tertiary care hospital from January 2000 to December 2014. During these 14 years, 64 patients were admitted with meningitis in pediatric intensive care unit. Out of 64, 36 were diagnosed with pyogenic meningitis, 18 patients with viral meningitis, and 10 with tuberculous meningitis. Most complications were observed in the initial 48 hours. Most common presentation was altered level of consciouness in 50 (78.1%), seizure in 38 (59.4%), and shock in 23 (35.9%) patients. Ventilatory support was required in 30 (46.9%) patients and inotropic support in 26 (40.6%). During stay in pediatric intensive care unit, there was 7.8% mortality. Although meningitis was an infrequent cause of hospitalization at the study centre, but it was an important infectious cause of mortality and morbidity in pediatric age group and associated with high neurological sequelae.
