简介细菌性脑膜炎(BM)是一种神经系统急症,主要影响两岁以下的儿童。儿童的临床症状很少见,因此做出诊断是一个挑战。应及时开始抗生素治疗,以确保避免显著的发病率和死亡率。这项研究旨在评估结果,死亡率,以及在拉瓦尔品第医科大学的联合医院中出现BM的儿童的症状学,巴基斯坦。方法这是一项横断面研究,样本量为201,在拉瓦尔品第医科大学的联合医院进行,巴基斯坦从2023年1月到2023年8月。采用非概率便利抽样。这项研究包括在新生儿和14岁之间确诊为细菌性脑膜炎的儿童。研究人群分为五个不同的年龄组。研究了三种不同的结果,包括完全恢复,并发症的发展,和死亡。数据由社会科学统计软件包(SPSS)第25版输入和分析(IBMCorp.,Armonk,NY,美国)。描述性统计数据被应用于人口统计数据。采用卡方分析方法研究了分类变量之间的关联。结果研究人群中有119人(59.2%)为男性。126(62.7%)的患者是通过自发阴道分娩(SVD)出生的。大多数(54%)的研究人群是婴儿。23%是新生儿,13%是幼儿,6%是学龄前儿童,4%是学龄儿童。大多数(85%)的研究参与者属于较低的社会经济背景。百分之九十的病例有发烧的症状,癫痫发作,可怜的喂养。颈部僵硬与作为结果的死亡显著相关(p值=0.01)。研究人群的总死亡率为20%。49%的研究人群完全恢复,而31%的患者在诊断后出现并发症。新生儿的死亡率高于婴儿(分别为45%和9%)。结论最常见的症状是发热,呕吐,癫痫发作,颈部僵硬。在大多数情况下也看到了不良的喂养。与周围和发达国家的发生率相比,在诊断出细菌性脑膜炎后,观察到并发症和死亡率相对较高。在所有的体征和症状中,在细菌性脑膜炎患儿中,颈部僵硬的存在与作为结局的死亡显著相关.
Introduction Bacterial meningitis (BM) is a neurologic emergency mainly affecting children under the age of two. Clinical symptoms are rarely evident in children, thus making a diagnosis is a challenge. Antibiotic therapy should be started timely to ensure the avoidance of significant morbidity and mortality. This study aims to assess the outcomes, mortality, and symptomatology of children presenting with BM in allied hospitals of Rawalpindi Medical University, Pakistan. Methods It is a cross-sectional study employing a sample size of 201, conducted at the Allied Hospitals of Rawalpindi Medical University, Pakistan from a period of January 2023 to August 2023. Non-probability convenience sampling was used. Children aged between newborns and 14 years of age with a confirmed diagnosis of bacterial meningitis were included in this study. The
study population was divided into five different age groups. Three different outcomes were studied including complete recovery, development of complications, and death. Data was entered into and analyzed by Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 25 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA). Descriptive statistics were applied to the demographic data. The chi-square analytical test was applied to study the association between the categorical variables. Results One hundred nineteen (59.2%) of the
study\'s population were males. One hundred twenty-six (62.7%) of the patients were born through a spontaneous vaginal delivery (SVD). The majority (54%) of the
study population were infants. Twenty-three percent were newborns, 13% were toddlers, 6% were preschool children, and 4% were school-age children. The majority (85%) of the
study participants belonged to lower socioeconomic backgrounds. Ninety percent of the cases had symptoms of fever, seizures, and poor feeding. Neck stiffness was significantly associated with death as an outcome (p-value=0.01). The overall mortality amongst the
study population was 20%. Forty-nine percent of the study population recovered completely, whereas 31% had complications following the diagnosis. Neonates had a higher mortality rate than infants (45% vs 9% respectively). Conclusion The most common presenting symptoms were fever, vomiting, seizures, and neck stiffness. Poor feeding was also seen in most cases. The rate of complications and death is observed to be relatively higher following the diagnosis of bacterial meningitis as compared to rates in the surrounding and developed countries. Out of all signs and symptoms, the presence of neck stiffness was significantly associated with death as an outcome among children with bacterial meningitis.