title: Cranial sonography in bacterial meningitis.
abstract: Cranial ultrasonography was performed on 61 infants with acute bacterial meningitis (ABM). Thirty nine, infants (64%) had acute meningitis with no clinical evidence of complications (Group-I) and 22 infants (36%) had clinical evidence of complications of ABM (Group-II). Cranial ultrasound was normal in 20 infants (32.8%). The spectrum of sonographic abnormalities included echogenic sulci (60.6%), sulcal separation (49.8%), abnormal parenchymal echoes (42.6%), ventriculomegaly (34.4%), ventriculitis (19.7%), abscess (3.3%), subdural empyema (1.63%) and hemorrhagic infarct (1.63%). Various abnormal findings were seen in all 22 patients of Group II (100%) and in only 19 out of 39 patients in Group I (31.9%). Cranial sonography was comparable to CT scan done in 10 cases of Group II. Our study suggests that ultrasound is a quick, reliable and effective diagnostic tool in diagnosis and management of infants with or without evidence of complications.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Kalawati Saran Childrens Hospital, New Delhi.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mahajan
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lodha
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Anand
authors.forename: A K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Patwari
authors.forename: V K
authors.initials: VK
authors.lastname: Anand
authors.forename: D P
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Garg
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D004453:Echoencephalography; D013354:Empyema, Subdural / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D016920:Meningitis, Bacterial / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed