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Charting the Etiology of Meningitis in N. California

Open Forum Infect Dis; 2017 Oct 4; Chu, et al

Bacterial meningitis is on the decline but enteroviral meningitis is still a common cause of meningitis of unknown etiology, suggests a review of 146 pediatric cases that occurred among Kaiser Permanente Northern California (KPNC) patients.

  • Among 146 cases in children between ages 1 month and 18 years, chart reviews found 19 confirmed or probable cases of bacterial meningitis, including S. pneumoniae, E. coli, S. agalactiae, N. meningitidis, and S. aureus.
  • In the same 146 cases, there were 50 confirmed or probable cases of viral meningitis, including enterovirus, HSVs, HSV1, and WNV.
  • 77 additional cases included viral causes and a few possible bacterial or infection-related inflammatory causes.
  • 20 cases were linked to a history of traumatic brain injury, all of which were concussions.

Citation:

Chu V, Carpenter D, Postlethwaite D, et al. Meningitis in the Kaiser Permanente Northern California (KPNC) pediatric population 2012 through 2016 and its association with prior traumatic brain injury (TBI). Open Forum Infect Dis. 2017;4 (suppl 1):S307. doi:10.1093/ofid/ofx163.712.