ASSESSMENT OF PATTERN AND MANAGEMENT OF ACUTE BACTERIAL MENINGITIS IN PAEDIATRIC PATIENT AT ADAMA HOSPITAL MEDICAL COLLEGE

Introduction: Meningitis is defined as inflammation of the membranes that surround the brain and spinal cord. Acute bacterial meningitis is a serious infection and is associated with considerable mortality and morbidity in various parts of the world. It has a global epidemiology but sub-Saharan Africa bears the highest burden of the disease. The most frequent causes are Nessieria meningitidis, Streptococcus pneumoniae, and Haemophilus influenzae. The present study was undertaken to assess the pattern and management of acute bacterial meningitis in paediatric patients.

Methods of the Study: The study was done with retrospective cross-sectional review of medical records of paediatric patients who have been diagnosed with acute bacterial meningitis at Adama Hospital Medical College during January 2012 to December 2014.The whole 176 patients with acute bacterial meningitis during the study period was included in the study. Data was collected from March, 2015 to May, 2015 using structured data collection format. Data was collected from patient cards and then analysed using statistical package for social science (SPSS) version 16.0 software.

Results: From 176 paediatric patients, 56.20% were in the age groups of one year to eleven year and 31.80% one month to one year. The present study depicted that crystalline penicillin (59.7%) and chloramphenicol (55.1%) were the most commonly prescribed antibiotics in the majority of patients admitted to paediatric words due to acute bacterial meningitis. 55.70% patients were presented clinical improvement from the bacterial infection. In contrast, 30.70% patients were failed to show clinical improvement. Moreover, the study revealed that high grade fever (83%) was the most common clinical presentations among paediatric patients with acute bacterial meningitis.

Conclusion and Recommendations: The present study revealed that most of paediatric patients with acute bacterial meningitis were treated by empirical antibiotics without identification of the causative agents. On top of this, inappropriate selection and use of antibiotics were the main factors that led to treatment failure & death. Hence, all health professionals, governmental Organizations should give strict attention to reduce childhood morbidity and mortality due to acute bacterial meningitis.