[Prevalence pneumococcal meningitis in Spanish children].
OBJECTIVE
To determine the prevalence of pneumococcal meningitis in the pediatric population in Spain. Material and methods Retrospective multicenter study performed in five autonomous communities (Catalonia, Galicia, Madrid, Navarre and the Basque Country) between January 1998 and December 2000. All patients aged between 0 and 14 years old with a diagnosis of pneumococcal meningitis (Streptococcus pneumoniae isolation or presence of Gram-positive diplococcus in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and CSF with more than 20 cells) in all the hospitals of the five autonomous communities were included in the study. The pediatric population in these communities aged between 0 and 14 years old was 2,327,079.


RESULTS
We detected 107 cases in 64 boys and 43 girls with a mean age of 1.19 years old (p 25-0.57; p 75-3.34). The incidence was higher in the first 2 years of life [72/107 (67 %)]. The overall annual prevalence in the five autonomous communities in the first 24 months of life was 8.26 per 100,000 children aged under 2 years (95 % CI: 3.45-15.76). The highest number of cases was detected in Catalonia and Madrid but the highest annual prevalence was found in the Basque Country with 15.52 cases per 100,000 children younger than 2 years old (95 % CI: 8.38-24.74). In the first 12 months of life the prevalence was high in all the autonomous communities, especially in the Basque Country with 22.76 cases per 100,000 newborn infants aged under 12 months (95 % CI 14.58-34.5). In the first 5 years of life the annual global adjusted prevalence per 100,000 children was as follows: Catalonia 3.21 (95 % CI: 1.31-5.11), Galicia 2.65 (95 % CI: 0.35-5.64), Madrid 3.49 (95 % CI: 1.36-5.61), Navarre 3.36 (95 % CI 5,08-11,81), the Basque Country 5.63 (95 % CI: 1.08-10.18).


CONCLUSIONS
The prevalence of pneumococcal meningitis in children from different autonomous communities is high and is greatest in the Basque Country and in children aged under 2 years. This prevalence is similar to that of other European countries and the USA.
Casado Flores
J
J
Hospital del Niño Jesús, Madrid, Spain. jcasadof@line-pro.es
Aristegui
J
J
Rodrigo De Liria
C
C
Martinón
J M
JM
Fernández Pérez
C
C
D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008586:Meningitis, Pneumococcal / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015995:Prevalence; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013030:Spain