Table 1.
Summary of baseline characteristics, CSF isolates and microscopy, and hearing outcomes of the 16 neonates with definite meningitis
| Birth gestational age, completed weeks | 28 (24–41; 25–38) |
| Birth weight, grammes | 935 (589–3630; 740–2280) |
| Postnatal age at diagnosis, days | 14 (2–89; 8–40) |
| Isolate, n cases: | |
| Escherichia coli | 5 |
| Group B Streptococcus | 5 |
| Coagulase-negative Staphylococcus | 3* |
| Pseudomonas aeruginosa | 1 |
| Enterobacter cloacae complex | 1 |
| Candida albicans | 1 |
| CSF cell counts | |
| WCC, x106/L | 745 (6–7420; 78–3015) |
| % polymorphs of total WCC | 75% (0%–95%; 40%–90%) |
| RCC, x106/L | 2525 (2–21 600; 540–6520) |
| CSF ratio WCC:RCC | 1:4 (1:550 –1:6×10–4; 1:135–1:0.32) |
| Hearing outcomes†, n | |
| Sensorineural hearing loss | 2 |
| Normal | 3 |
| Satisfactory‡ | 5 |
| N/A | 6 |
Data are median (range; IQR).
*1 Staphylococcus haemolyticus 1 Staphylococcus epidermidis, 1 not further speciated.
†Normal hearing ≤20 dB; mild hearing loss 21–40 dB minimum detectable threshold; moderate 41–70 dB; severe loss 71-95 dB; profound loss >95 dB.
‡Satisfactory hearing, based on otoacoustic emissions and visual reinforcement audiometry with sound field testing down to 25 dB (no audiogram), but unable to rule out mild loss (n=3) or based on tone pip auditory brainstem responses/otoacoustic emissions (no audiogram) (n=2).
CSF, cerebrospinal fluid; N/A, not available; RCC, red cell count; WCC, white cell count.