Table 2.
Characteristics and findings in children with meningitis included in this study (n = 83).
| Variable | Overall | Sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| n/N (%) | Normal (n = 47) | Mild/moderate (n = 22) | Severe/profound (n = 14) | Test | |
| Biometrics | |||||
| Age in months (median, range) | 14 (5–120) | 15 (5–120) | 10 (6–108) | 14 (6–120) | P = 0.38* |
| Males | 49/83 (59%) | 29/47 | 13/22 | 7/14 | P = 0.73 |
|
| |||||
| Anthropometric | |||||
| Weight, mean z score (SD)ξ | −0.89 (1.96) | −0.81 (2.10) | −1.24 (1.76) | −0.60 (1.84) | P = 0.59* |
| Malnourished (Yes) | 15/83 (18.1%) | 9/47 | 4/22 | 2/14 | P = 0.91 |
|
| |||||
| Clinical variables | |||||
| History | |||||
| Seizures | 64/82 (78.1%) | 30/46 | 21/22 | 13/14 | P = 0.006 |
| Examination | |||||
| Fever (Y) | 54/83 (65.1%) | 32/47 | 17/22 | 5/14 | P = 0.03 |
| Level of consciousness (GCS) | |||||
| Coma score < 8 | 13/83 (15.7%) | 1/47 | 9/22 | 3/14 | |
| Coma score > 8 | 70/83 (84.3%) | 46/47 | 13/22 | 11/14 | P < 0.001 |
| Cranial nerve palsy (Y)† | 8/83 (9.6) | 0/47 | 4/22 | 4/14 | P = 0.002 |
|
| |||||
| Laboratory | |||||
| CSF culture | |||||
| No growth | 66/83 (79.5%) | 46/47 | 13/22 | 7/14 | |
| Other | 7/83 (8.4%) | 1/47 | 4/22 | 2/14 | |
| Streptococcus pneumonia | 10/83 (12.1%) | 0/47 | 5/22 | 7/14 | P < 0.000 |
| CSF biochemistry | |||||
| CSF glucose | |||||
| Median, range (g/dL) | 29.7 (21.5–90) | 31.2 (21.5–90) | 27.7 (22.2–90) | 27.2 (21.5–90) | P = 0.63* |
| >40 mg/dL | 7/83 (8.4%) | 2/47 | 4/22 | 1/14 | P = 0.150 |
| <40 mg/dL | 76/83 (91.6%) | ||||
| CSF protein | |||||
| Median, range | 225 (11–952) | 231 (123–952) | 222.5 (11–952) | 189.5 (128–653) | P = 0.37* |
| <100 mg/dL | 0/83 (0) | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| >100 mg/dL, | 83/83 (100%) | 47/47 | 22/22 | 14/14 | — |
†All palsies involved the Abducens (Cranial nerve VI); ξbased on CDC growth charts, US version 2000; *Levene's robust test statistic for the equality of variances between the groups.
GCS: Glasgow Coma Scale.