Table 4.
Treatment and outcomes of 284 hospitalised children meeting the clinical case definition for CNS infection
| Feature | 1-11 m | 1-4y | 5-15y | Overall | P-value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (n = 68) | (n = 108) | (n = 108) | (n = 284) | ||
| Admission duration (days), median (range) | 5 (1–49) | 4 (1–23) | 7 (0–68) | 5 (0–68) | <0.0001 |
| Empiric antibiotic treatmenta, n (%) | |||||
| Ampicillin | 1 (1.5) | 2 (1.9) | 0 (0) | 3 (1.1) | 0.3 |
| Ceftriaxone | 41 (60.3) | 67 (62.0) | 92 (85.2) | 200 (70.4) | 0.0001 |
| Imipenem / meropenem | 0 (0) | 1 (0.9) | 0 (0) | 1 (0.4) | 0.9 |
| Other single antibiotic drug | 1 (1.5) | 5 (4.6) | 2 (1.9) | 8 (2.8) | 0.9 |
| Multiple empiric antibiotics | 6 (8.8) | 9 (8.3) | 9 (8.3) | 24 (8.5) | 0.9 |
| No empiric antibiotics | 19 (27.9) | 24 (22.2) | 5 (4.6) | 48 (16.9) | <0.0001 |
| No antibiotic given, n (%) | 16 (23.5) | 22 (20.4) | 2 (1.9) | 40 (14.1) | <0.0001 |
| Dexamethasone, n (%) | 14 (20.6) | 13 (12.0) | 44/107 (41.1) | 71/283 (25.1) | 0.0003 |
| ICU care, n (%) | 25 (36.8) | 22 (20.4) | 20 (18.5) | 67 (23.6) | 0.009 |
| Outcome, n (%) | |||||
| Home | 64 (94.1) | 102 (94.4) | 103 (95.4) | 269 (94.7) | 0.7 |
| Death (incl. Home to die) b | 1 (1.5) | 2 (1.9) | 4 (3.7) | 7 (2.5) | 0.3 |
| Unknown (transfer / LAMA c ) | 3 (4.4) | 4 (3.7) | 1 (0.9) | 8 (2.8) | 0.3 |
| CNS infection case classification, n (%) | |||||
| Confirmed | 11 (16.2) | 20 (18.5) | 24 (22.2) | 55 (19.3) | 0.3 |
| Probable | 1 (1.5) | 2 (1.9) | 33 (30.6) | 36 (12.7) | <0.0001 |
| Suspected | 56 (82.3) | 86 (79.6) | 51 (47.2) | 193 (68.0) | <0.0001 |
aDefined as treatment initiated within the first 48 h of hospital admission
bOne patient was taken home when condition was deemed hopeless
cLeft against medical advice