[Ten-year changes in pathogen, antimicrobial susceptibility and clinical feature of children with bacterial meningitis].
OBJECTIVE
Despite progress in antibiotic therapy and intensive care, childhood bacterial meningitis (BM) remains a devastating disease. We conducted this study to investigate the changes in clinical characteristics, the etiologic agents and antimicrobial susceptibility of BM during the past 10 years in children under 14 years of age.


METHODS
These 126 patients were divided into two groups according to their date of admission. Group 1 included 64 patients admitted from January 1998 to December 2002, and group 2 included 62 cases admitted from January 2003 to December 2007. All pediatric medical charts of them were reviewed.


RESULTS
The predominant isolated bacteria from CSF were coagulase-negative staphylococcus (17/62, 27.4%) and Escherichia coli (9/62, 14.5%) in group 2. The resistance rate of staphylococcus against oxacillin (MRS) was 68.4% (13/19) in group 2, significantly higher than that of group 1 (16.7%, 2/12). Among 126 cases, 42 had seizure attack and 16 had consciousness disturbance, the proportions of them in group 2 (11/62, 17.7%; 4/62, 6.4%) were lower than those in group 1 (31/64, 48.4%; 12/64, 18.8%, P < 0.05). Cases in group 2 survived with complications [13/62 (21.0%)] and sequelae [11/62 (17.7%)] were lower than those in group 1 (24/64, 37.5%, 23/64, 35.9%, P < 0.05), but the rate of empirical therapy modification in group 2 (21/62, 33.9%) was higher than that in group 1 (7/64, 10.9%, P < 0.01).


CONCLUSIONS
The predominant bacteria in children with BM are staphylococcus and Escherichia coli in recent years. The antibiotic resistance rate of bacteria has been higher year after year. The clinical patterns of pediatric BM have changed with a decrease in clinically serious cases, complications and sequelae, but an increase in modification of empirical therapy.
Li
Hong
H
Department of Internal Medicine, Tianjin Children's Hospital, Tianjin 300074, China.
Zhang
Yu-Qin
YQ
Zhang
Jin-Ting
JT
Zhu
Jin
J
Liu
Xiao-Jun
XJ
Wang
Huai-Li
HL
Ye
Lu-Mei
LM
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003428:Cross Infection / Q000382:microbiology; D024881:Drug Resistance, Bacterial; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D016920:Meningitis, Bacterial / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013212:Staphylococcus epidermidis / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000302:isolation & purification
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents