Table 1.
Clinical and demographic characteristics of children included in the study.
| All, No. (%) | Definite TBM, No. (%) | Non-confirmed TBM, No. (%) | All TBM, No. (%) | No-TBM#, No. (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of participants | 47 | 3 (6.4) | 20 (42.6) | 23 (48.9) | 24 (51.1) |
| Median age in months (IQR) | 22.0 (10.5–57.0) | 58.0 (36.5–101.5) | 17.5 (10.3–31.5) | 18.0 (11.0–40.0) | 30.0 (9.0–96.0) |
| Males, n (%) | 30 (63.8) | 1 (33.3) | 12 (60.0) | 13 (56.5) | 17 (70.8) |
| HIV Positive, n/no tested | 6 /37 | 0/2 | 0/19 | 0/21 | 6 /15 |
| BCG done, n (%) | 33 (70.2) | 0 (0.0) | 16 (80.0) | 17 (73.9) | 16 (66.7) |
| TB contact in history | 14 (29.8) | 0 (0.0) | 7 (35.0) | 7 (30.4) | 7 (29.2) |
| Presenting symptoms | |||||
| Fever | 17 (36.2) | 2 (66.7) | 7 (35.0) | 10 (43.5) | 7 (29.2) |
| Vomiting | 12 (25.5) | 0 (0.0) | 6 (30.0) | 7 (30.4) | 5 (20.8) |
| Weight loss | 10 (21.3) | 1 (33.3) | 6 (30.0) | 7 (30.4) | 3 (12.5) |
| Seizures | 18 (38.3) | 1 (33.3) | 9 (45.0) | 9 (39.1) | 9 (37.5) |
| Cough | 16 (34.0) | 1 (33.3) | 6 (30.0) | 9 (39.1) | 7 (29.2) |
| Altered consciousness | 13 (27.7) | 1 (33.3) | 6 (30.0) | 6 (26.1) | 7 (29.2) |
| Symptom duration, days | 15.0 | 18.5 | 25.8 | 9.4 | 5.6 |
| Clinical signs | |||||
| Raised intracranial pressure | 10 (21.3) | 1 (33.3) | 5 (25.0) | 5 (21.7) | 5 (20.8) |
| Hemiplegia | 13 (27.7) | 1 (33.3) | 9 (45.0) | 7 (30.4) | 6 (25.0) |
#The no-TBM group included children with bacterial meningitis (n = 2), viral meningitis (n = 2), asphyxia (n = 1), autoimmune encephalitis (n = 1), febrile seizure (n = 3), Guilain Barre (n = 1), HIV encephalopathy (n = 1), focal seizures (n = 1), leukemia (n = 1), Miliary TB (With lymyphocytic interstitial pneumonitis) (n = 1), Developmental delay (n = 1), Breakthrough seizure (n = 1), Gastroenteritis (Caused by shock) (n = 1), Idiopathic intracranial hypertention (IIH) (n = 1), Viral Gastroenteritis (Adeno and Rota) and encephalopathy (n = 1), Stroke (n = 1), Mitochondrial diagnosis (n = 1), viral pneumonia (This included also SAM and nosocomial sepsis) (n = 1), Febrile Seizure and Acute gastroenteritis (n = 1) and other (n = 1). Adapted and modified from Manyelo et al. (29). TBM, Tuberculous Meningitis; BCG, Bacille Calmette-Guérin; IQR, Interquartile range; CSF, Cerebrospinal fluid; HIV, Human immunodeficiency virus. Unless otherwise stated, n = 47.