Clinical features, acute complications, and outcome of <it>Salmonella </it>meningitis in children under one year of age in Taiwan

Abstract

Abstract Background Salmonella meningitis remains a threat to children below two years of age in both developing and developed countries. However, information on such infections has not been well characterized. We analyzed data related to twelve years of experience in order to clarify the comprehensive features of Salmonella meningitis in our patients, including admission characteristics, acute complications, and long-term outcome. Methods The records of patients with spontaneous Salmonella meningitis from 1982 to 1994 were retrospectively reviewed. The long-term outcome was prospectively determined for survivors at school age by the developmental milestones reported by their parents and detailed neurological evaluation along with intelligence, hearing, visual, speech and language assessments. Results Of the twenty-four patients, seizures were noted in fifteen (63%) before admission and thirteen (54%) during hospitalization. Acute complications mainly included hydrocephalus (50%), subdural collection (42%), cerebral infarction (33%), ventriculitis (25%), empyema (13%), intracranial abscess (8%), and cranial nerve palsy (8%). Three patients (13%) died during the acute phase of Salmonella meningitis. The twenty-one survivors, on whom we followed up at school age, have sequelae consisting of language disorder (52%), motor disability (48%), intelligence quotient Conclusion Salmonella meningitis in neonates and infants had a wide spectrum of morbidity and acute complications, leading to a complicated hospital course and subsequently a high prevalence of permanent adverse outcome. Thus, early recognition of acute complications of Salmonella meningitis and a follow-up plan for early developmental assessment of survivors are vital.