Table 3.
Comparison of patient characteristics, severity at ICU admission, microbiological data, and therapeutic measures between survivors and non-survivors after ICU admission for bacterial meningitis (n=157)
| Characteristics | Non-survivors | Survivors | p Value | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| n=23 | n=134 | ||||
| Demographics | IQR | IQR | |||
| Age, yr | 65 | [40.6–74.3] | 41 | [28.7–59.1] | 0.003 |
| Female sex | 4/23 | 17.4 % | 56/134 | 41.8 % | 0.035 |
| Immunosuppression | 9/23 | 39.1 % | 20/134 | 14.9 % | 0.016 |
| Alcohol use disorder | 7/23 | 30.4 % | 11/132 | 8.3 % | 0.007 |
| Asplenia | 2/23 | 8.7 % | 4/133 | 3.0 % | NS |
| HIV infection | 3/23 | 13.0 % | 5/133 | 3.8 % | 0.096 |
| Severity at ICU admission | |||||
| Glasgow Coma Scale score | 7 | [4–9] | 12 | [9–15] | <10 −3 |
| Mechanical ventilation | 20/21 | 95.2 % | 40/115 | 34.8 % | 0.004 |
| Severe sepsis or septic shock | 21/21 | 100.0 % | 94/115 | 81.7 % | 0.043 |
| SAPS II | 64 | [53–73] | 27 | [15–36] | <10 −3 |
| LOD system | |||||
| Neurologic | 21/21 | 100.0 % | 61/115 | 53.0 % | <10 −3 |
| Pulmonary | 20/21 | 95.2 % | 40/115 | 34.8 % | <10 −3 |
| Hematologic | 12/21 | 57.1 % | 45/115 | 39.1 % | 0.151 |
| Cardiovascular | 12/21 | 57.1 % | 38/115 | 33.0 % | 0.048 |
| Renal | 13/21 | 61.9 % | 19/115 | 16.5 % | <10 −3 |
| Hepatic | 0/21 | 0.0 % | 0/115 | 0.0 % | – |
| Microbiology | |||||
| CSF white cell count/mm3 | 1900 | [290–4500] | 1770 | [494–5050] | NS |
| CSF protein rate, g/L | 8.4 | [4.7–10.6] | 3.1 | [1.8–4.9] | <10 −3 |
| Positive direct examination of CSF | 17/22 | 77.3 % | 84/130 | 64.6 % | NS |
| Streptococcus pneumoniae as causative bacterium | 18/23 | 81.8 % | 58/134 | 43.3 % | 0.003 |
| Penicillin non-susceptible isolates | 7/14 | 31.8 % | 25/52 | 48.1 % | NS |
| Neisseria meningitidis as causative bacterium | 1/23 | 4.5 % | 43/134 | 32.1 % | 0.005 |
| Therapeutic measures | |||||
| Time between hospital admission and first dose of antibiotic (h) | 4 | [1.9–8.5] | 2.4 | [0.7–6] | 0.102 |
| Association of antibiotics as initial therapy | 22/23 | 95.7 % | 97/134 | 72.4 % | 0.016 |
| Treatment with rifampin during the hospitalization | 2/23 | 8.7 % | 30/134 | 22.4 % | 0.168 |
| Early treatment with rifampin (within first 24 h) | 0/23 | 0.0 % | 19/134 | 14.2 % | 0.078 |
| Treatment with vancomycin during hospitalization | 20/23 | 87.0 % | 78/134 | 58.2 % | 0.01 |
| Early treatment with vancomycin (within first 24 h) | 17/23 | 73.9 % | 66/134 | 49.3 % | 0.041 |
| Treatment with corticosteroids during hospitalization | 18/23 | 78.3 % | 87/134 | 64.9 % | NS |
| Time between hospital admission and first dose of corticosteroids (h) | 8 | [5–13] | 5.4 | [1.7–9.5] | 0.042 |
SAPS II Simplified Acute Physiology Score II, CSF cerebrospinal fluid, LOD Logistic Organ Dysfunction system
Data are proportions of patients and percentages or median values [interquartile range]
p Values <0.2 are detailed. p Values <0.05 were considered significant (bold)