Table 1.
Baseline characteristics of 242 febrile patients with severe traumatic brain injury suspected to have bacterial meningitis
| Variables | Value |
|---|---|
| Age (years) | 32.8 ± 17.4 |
| Gender | |
| Men | 232 (95.9%) |
| Women | 10 (4.1%) |
| Mechanism of injury | |
| Motor vehicle accidents (%) | 193 (79.7%) |
| Falls (%) | 40(16.5%) |
| Assault trauma (%) | 93.7%) |
| Others (%) | 0 (0%) |
| Brain CT-Scan Findings | |
| Fractures (%) | 178 (73.5%) |
| Epideural hematoma (%) | 123 (50.8%) |
| Contusions (%) | 92 (38%) |
| Subdural hematoma (%) | 75 (30.9%) |
| Subarachnoid hemorrhage (%) | 63 (26%) |
| Intracerebral hemorrhage (%) | 39 (16.1%) |
| Others (%) | 10 (4.1%) |
| GCS | 6.73 ± 3.23 |
| Treatment | |
| Surgery (%) | 119 (49.1%) |
| Conservative (%) | 123 (50.8%) |
| Antibiotic therapy | |
| Yes (%) | 191 (78.9%) |
| No (%) | 51 (21.1%) |
| CSF results | |
| Proven bacterial meningitis (%) | 89 (36.8%) |
| Suspected bacterial meningitis (%) | 14 (5.8%) |
| Excluded meningitis (%) | 139 (57.4%) |
| Culture results | |
| Positive (%) | 36 (14.8%) |
| Negative (%) | 206 (85.1%) |