Hearing in children after meningococcal meningitis.
OBJECTIVE
To review the outcome of sensorineural hearing loss in children who have had confirmed meningococcal meningitis.


METHODS
A retrospective audit of children admitted to the Starship Children's Hospital with a confirmed diagnosis of meningococcal meningitis during a 4-year period.


RESULTS
Sixty-five children had confirmed meningococcal meningitis. Dexamethasone was administered according to recommended guidelines in 46 children (72%) while 12 children (19%) did not receive steroids at any stage. All children were appropriately referred for hearing assessment. Forty-nine children (75%) had their hearing tested and reliable sensorineural evaluation was obtained in all but one case. Thirty-four children (70%) were seen up to 6 weeks from discharge, 86% by 12 weeks. Sixteen cases (25%) did not attend for audiological assessment. Sensorineural hearing impairment was found in two children (4.2%).


CONCLUSIONS
Children with meningococcal meningitis were reliably referred for audiological assessment but 39% either failed to attend for an outpatient hearing evaluation (25%) or had an unacceptable delay between discharge and testing (14%). Of those reliably tested, two children (4.2%) had significant sensorineural hearing loss.
Drake
R
R
Departments of Paediatrics and Audiology, Starship Children's Hospital, Grafton, Auckland, New Zealand. r.drake@auckland.ac.nz
Dravitski
J
J
Voss
L
L
D000293:Adolescent; D017677:Age Distribution; D001299:Audiometry; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006319:Hearing Loss, Sensorineural / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008585:Meningitis, Meningococcal / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis; D009520:New Zealand / Q000453:epidemiology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D017678:Sex Distribution