[Clinical and laboratory aspects of acute bacterial meningitis in infants].
OBJECTIVE
to describe clinical and laboratorial characteristics of acute bacterial meningitis in infants.


METHODS
data from the prospective follow-up of infants with acute bacterial meningitis, admitted at the Hospital Couto Maia between March and December 1997, were analyzed with specific statistical software.


RESULTS
acute bacterial meningitis was more prevalent in infants with ages varying from 6 months to 1 year. The most frequent etiologic agent was Haemophilus influenzae. The global lethality was 25.9% and among the survivors 39.3% left the hospital with some abnormality in the neurological exam compatible with the brain involvement.


CONCLUSIONS
acute bacterial meningitis in infants is a high lethality disease that in the majority of cases can be prevented. We consider of great relevance the adoption of health prevention strategies in order to reduce the incidence of this disease.
Lucena
Rita
R
Divisão de Neurologia e Epidemiologia, Universidade Federal da Bahia, Salvador, BA, Brasil.
Gomes
Irenio
I
Cardoso
Eduardo
E
Goes
Julieta
J
Nunes
Luciana
L
Cardoso
Adriana
A
Rodrigues
Bernardo
B
Souza
Murilo
M
Novaes
Marco Antônio
MA
Melo
Ailton
A
D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D016920:Meningitis, Bacterial / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000382:microbiology / Q000401:mortality; D011446:Prospective Studies
Aspectos clínicos e laboratoriais de meningite piogênica em lactentes.