Medical Journal of Dr. D.Y. Patil University (Jan 2012)

Epidemiological study of acute bacterial meningitis in admitted children below twelve years of age in a tertiary care teaching hospital in Pune, India

  • Dhrubajyoti J Debnath,
  • Arun Wanjpe,
  • Vandana Kakrani,
  • Samir Singru

DOI
https://doi.org/10.4103/0975-2870.97508
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 5, no. 1
pp. 28 – 30

Abstract

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Context: The community incidence of acute bacterial meningitis in India is not known. There is a need for a periodic review of bacterial meningitis worldwide, since the pathogens responsible for the infection vary with time, geography, and patient age. Aims: To study some epidemiological factors of acute meningitis. Setting and Design: Hospital based cross sectional study. Materials and Methods: Detailed clinical examination of all clinically suspected cases of meningitis was done. Blood and cerebro spinal fluid culture was done. Statistical Analysis Used: Fisher exact test, P < 0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Results: There were 79 suspected cases of meningitis, majority of cases (74.7%) were under-fives. The case fatality rate (CFR) was 13.9% with a confidence interval ranging from 5.9 to 21.5%. The association between the age and the mortality was not statistically significant. (Fisher′s exact test, P = 1). The association between the gender and the mortality was not statistically significant (Fisher′s exact test, P = 0.3). Based on the culture examination there were 16 cases of confirmed bacterial meningitis. Commonest isolate was Klebsiella pneumoniae as seen in five cases (31.2%). Neisseria meningitides, H influenzae, or Streptococcus pneumoniae were not isolated in any case. Conclusion: Acute bacterial meningitis is still an important public health problem with a high case fatality rate.

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