title: [Community acquired acute bacterial meningitis--a 10 year review].
abstract: Bacterial meningitis is still an important topic for the infectious diseases specialist, due to it's high incidence, severity and it's high mortality rate.
  
  
  METHODS
  We retrospectively studied 679 patients diagnosed with community acquired bacterial meningitis in the Infectious Diseases Hospital Iaşi, Romania between 1998 and 2007.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The annual number of admissions slightly decreased in the last years. Most patients were males (62.1%). Predisposing factors were present in 34.9% of cases. Seizures were described in 19.6% of cases, more frequent in children. The CSF was purulent only in 69.4% of patients, 29.6% of them receiving antibiotics prior to admission; the albumin level in the CSF of pneumococcal meningitis was higher than in other meningitis. The etiology was established in 51.6% of cases, more frequent in sucklings (68.1%). N. meningitidis was the most common cause of community acquired acute bacterial meningitis (CABM) (28.5%) followed by S. pneumoniae (14%). S. pneumoniae was susceptible to penicillin in 79% of cases. The mean mortality rate was 13.1%.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Factors associated with a poor prognosis were: pneumococcal etiology, age over 60, and the presence of seizures or coma at admission.
authors.affiliation: Disciplina de Boli Infecţioase, Facultatea de Medicină, Universitatea de Medicină si Farmacie Gr.T. Popa Iaşi.
authors.forename: Egidia
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Miftode
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Vâţă
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Leca
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hurmuzache
authors.forename: Olivia
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Dorneanu
authors.forename: Carmen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Manciuc
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Luca
authors.forename: Carmen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Dorobăţ
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002555:Cerebrospinal Fluid / Q000382:microbiology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003128:Coma / Q000382:microbiology; D017714:Community-Acquired Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data / Q000639:trends; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D008499:Medical Records; D016920:Meningitis, Bacterial / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000401:mortality; D008875:Middle Aged; D011008:Pneumococcal Infections / Q000453:epidemiology; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012383:Romania / Q000453:epidemiology; D012640:Seizures / Q000382:microbiology; D017678:Sex Distribution; D013492:Suppuration