Table 2.

Common signs and symptoms at presentation. The table shows the proportion of CMGs that each specific signs or symptoms was described in

Bacterial CNS infections
Neonates/infants (≤ 1 year) (n = 8 CMGs)		Children (< 16–18 years) (n = 10 CMGs)		Adults and unspecified age (n = 10 CMGs)
Signs and symptoms	n (%)	Signs and symptoms	n (%)	Signs and symptoms	n (%)
Irritability	8 (100)	Neck stiffness	10 (100)	Fever	10 (100)
Fever	8 (100)	Headache	9 (90)	Headache	10 (100)
Poor appetite/feeding	8 (100)	Fever	9 (90)	Neck stiffness	10 (100)
Bulging fontanelle	6 (75)	Petechial rash/purpura	8 (80)	AMS/ALOC	6 (60)
Petechial rash/purpura	6 (75)	AMS	7 (70)	Petechial rash/purpura	5 (50)
Lethargy	6 (75)	Nausea/vomiting	6 (60)	Focal neurological signs	5 (50)
Nausea/vomiting	5 (63)	Photophobia	6 (60)	Seizures	4 (40)
Neck stiffness	5 (63)	Kernig’s sign	5 (50)	Photophobia	3 (30)
Seizures	4 (50)	Brudzinski’s sign	5 (50)	Nausea/vomiting	3 (30)
Apnoea or respiratory distress	4 (50)	Cold hands/feet	4 (40)
Hypothermia	4 (50)	Abnormal skin colour	4 (40)
Confusion	3 (38)	Focal neurological signs	3 (30)
Photophobia	3 (38)	Poor appetite	3 (30)
Abnormal skin colour	3 (38)	Leg pain	2 (20)
Kernig’s sign	2 (25)	Lethargy	2 (20)
Brudzinski’s sign	2 (25)	Irritability	2 (20)
Viral CNS infections
Children (n = 4 CMGs)		Adults and unspecified age (n = 10 CMGs)
Signs and symptoms	n (%)	Signs and symptoms		n (%)
Seizures	4 (100)	Seizures		10 (100)
Focal neurological signs	4 (100)	Focal neurological signs		10 (100)
Fever	4 (100)	Fever		9 (90)
ALOC	4 (100)	ALOC		9 (90)
Changes in personality or behaviour	4 (100)	Changes in personality or behaviour		8 (80)
Headache	1 (25)	Rash		5 (50)
		Headache		4 (40)
		Vomiting		1 (10)
		Memory changes		1 (10)

Abbreviations: ALOC altered level of consciousness, AMS altered mental status