title: Bacterial meningitis in Saudi children.
abstract: During the four years period from 1988 to 1991, 50 pediatric patients were diagnosed to have bacterial meningitis, out of a total number of 9057 pediatric admissions at Qatif Central Hospital, Qatif, Saudi Arabia, and 82% were less than two years of age. The causative organisms were isolated in 27 (54%) patients. The bacteria grown included Haemophilus influenzae type B in 8 patients (29.6%), Neisseria meningitidis in 8 patients (29.6%), Streptococcus pneumonia in 6 (22%) patients, and other bacteria in 5 patients (18.5%). Cerebro spinal fluid cultures from twenty three patients (46%) showed no organisms, however their clinical and C.S.F. findings were compatible with bacterial meningitis. One case of H. influenzae type B was resistant to ampicillin. Six patients died with an over all mortality of 12%, and 10 patients (20%) developed some kind of C.N.S. sequelae. Partially treated meningitis formed a large percentage of our sample.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Qatif Central Hospital, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: H A
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Srair
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Aman
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: al-Madan
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: al-Khater
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006192:Haemophilus Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000401:mortality; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D016920:Meningitis, Bacterial / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology / Q000401:mortality; D008585:Meningitis, Meningococcal / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000401:mortality; D011008:Pneumococcal Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000401:mortality; D012529:Saudi Arabia