Culture- and antigen-negative meningitis in Guatemalan children Meningitis negativa a pruebas antigénicas y de cultivo en niños guatemaltecos

• Main Authors: Erica L. Dueger, Edwin J. Asturias, Neal A. Halsey
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English; Spanish; Portuguese
• Published: Pan American Health Organization 2008
• Subjects: Meningitis viral; meningitis bacteriana; meningitis aséptica; Guatemala; Viral meningitis; bacterial meningitis; aseptic meningitis; Medicine; R; Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Public aspects of medicine; RA1-1270; Arctic; Referencia
• Online Access: https://doaj.org/article/b65fe8a6ab0f400198b7b0f27050d166

OBJECTIVE: To compare children with confirmed bacterial meningitis (CBM) and those with culture- and latex-negative meningitis (CLN). METHODS: Children 1 to 59 months of age admitted to three major referral hospitals in Guatemala City with clinical signs compatible with bacterial infections were evaluated prospectively between 1 October 1996 and 31 December 2005. Bacterial cultures and latex agglutination antigen testing were performed on samples of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). RESULTS: The case-fatality rate was significantly higher in the 493 children with CBM than in the 528 children with CLN (27.6% and 14.9%, respectively; P < 0.001). Children with CBM were less likely to have received antibiotics and more likely to have seizures, shock, or coma on admission than children with CLN. Among the 182 CBM survivors and 205 CLN survivors studied between October 2000 and December 2005, clinically observed sequelae were present at discharge in a higher percentage of the CBM than of the CLN group (78.6% and 46.8%, respectively; P < 0.0001). CSF glucose < 10 mg/dL, peripheral neutrophils < 2 000 cells/mm³, coma or shock at admission, and concurrent sepsis or pneumonia were risk factors for mortality in children with CBM; only coma or shock at admission predicted mortality in children with CLN. CONCLUSIONS: The high case-fatality and sequelae rates suggest that many children with CLN may have had bacterial meningitis. Estimates based on confirmed meningitis alone underestimate the true vaccine-preventable disease burden. Additional studies to determine etiologies of CLN in this population are indicated. OBJETIVO: Comparar los casos infantiles de meningitis bacteriana confirmada (MBC) y meningitis negativa a pruebas de látex y de cultivo (MNLC). MÉTODOS: Se evaluaron los niños de 1 a 59 meses de edad ingresados en tres grandes hospitales de referencia de la Ciudad de Guatemala entre el 1 de octubre de 1996 y el 31 de diciembre de 2005 con signos clínicos de infección bacteriana. Se realizaron cultivos ...