title: Usefulness of clinical scores to predict outcome in bacterial meningitis.
abstract: The predictive usefulness of clinical scores in patients with acute bacterial meningitis was investigated. Fifty-one consecutive patients with acute bacterial meningitis were scored on days 1, 3, 5, 8, and 14 after admission according to the Sandinavian Stroke Scale (SSS), Glasgow Coma-Scale (GCS) and Hunt & Hess Scale (HH). As an index of their usefulness to predict the outcome, the scales were correlated with short-term outcome on day 21 assessed by the Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS). The scores of all three scales correlated highly significantly with short-term outcome. Depending on the day of assessment, Spearman correlation coefficients ranged between 0.52 and 0.88 for SSS, between 0.50 and 0.84 for GCS, and between -0.47 and -0.82 for HH. The scales differed in their ability to predict outcome on and after day 1: mortality was best predicted by GCS, and complete recovery was best predicted by SSS. The use of scales in bacterial meningitis provides a rational quantitative basis to predict outcome more graduated than in dead or alive. Because the scales accentuate different aspects of outcome (e.g. mortality, restitution), the selection of a scale to be used in clinical trials should take into consideration the main focus of the study.
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Neurology, University Hospital of the Saarland, Homburg/Saar, Germany.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Merkelbach
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Röhn
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: König
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Müller
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D015600:Glasgow Coma Scale; D016905:Gram-Negative Bacterial Infections / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000401:mortality / Q000628:therapy; D016908:Gram-Positive Bacterial Infections / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000401:mortality / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D016920:Meningitis, Bacterial / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000401:mortality / Q000628:therapy; D008875:Middle Aged; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011379:Prognosis; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D015996:Survival Rate; D016896:Treatment Outcome