Bacterial and prognostic profile of nosocomial meningitis in newborns

Abstract

Introduction: Nosocomial neonatal meningitis is particularly dreadful because it occurs in patients of
immature immunity and a developing brain. It is always a challenge for the clinician due to its clinical
polymorphism making the diagnosis often difficult

Aim: To study the epidemiological, clinical, bacteriological, therapeutic and evolutionary aspects of
neonatal nosocomial bacterial meningitis.

Results: Through our series, we reported fourteen cases of nosocomial meningitis, ie 43% of meningitis
recorded over the study period. A male predominance was observed in 57.1%. The newborns were
preterm in 28% of cases and had low birth weight in 42% of cases. The germ isolated was Klebsiella
pneumoniae in 28.4% of cases. The blood culture was positive in 64% of cases. The same germ was
isolated in both blood and the cerebrospinal fluid in 42% of cases. The complications found were:
ventriculitis (28.5%), triventricular and tetraventricular hydrocephalus (14.2%) and multiple cerebral
abscesses (14.2%). The mortality rate recorded in our series was 28.5%.

Conclusion: Nosocomial meningitis is a serious or even fatal condition requiring early diagnosis and
adequate antimacrobial therapy. Prevention remains the best strategy for the battle against this infection.