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Previous Volume 351:1849-1859 October 28, 2004 Number 18 Next

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ABSTRACT

Background We conducted a nationwide study in the Netherlands to determine clinical features and prognostic factors in adults with community-acquired acute bacterial meningitis.

Methods From October 1998 to April 2002, all Dutch patients with community-acquired acute bacterial meningitis, confirmed by cerebrospinal fluid cultures, were prospectively evaluated. All patients underwent a neurologic examination on admission and at discharge, and outcomes were classified as unfavorable (defined by a Glasgow Outcome Scale score of 1 to 4 points at discharge) or favorable (a score of 5). Predictors of an unfavorable outcome were identified through logistic-regression analysis.

Results We evaluated 696 episodes of community-acquired acute bacterial meningitis. The most common pathogens were Streptococcus pneumoniae (51 percent of episodes) and Neisseria meningitidis (37 percent). The classic triad of fever, neck stiffness, and a change in mental status was present in only 44 percent of episodes; however, 95 percent had at least two of the four symptoms of headache, fever, neck stiffness, and altered mental status. On admission, 14 percent of patients were comatose and 33 percent had focal neurologic abnormalities. The overall mortality rate was 21 percent. The mortality rate was higher among patients with pneumococcal meningitis than among those with meningococcal meningitis (30 percent vs. 7 percent, P<0.001). The outcome was unfavorable in 34 percent of episodes. Risk factors for an unfavorable outcome were advanced age, presence of otitis or sinusitis, absence of rash, a low score on the Glasgow Coma Scale on admission, tachycardia, a positive blood culture, an elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate, thrombocytopenia, and a low cerebrospinal fluid white-cell count.

Conclusions In adults presenting with community-acquired acute bacterial meningitis, the sensitivity of the classic triad of fever, neck stiffness, and altered mental status is low, but almost all present with at least two of the four symptoms of headache, fever, neck stiffness, and altered mental status. The mortality associated with bacterial meningitis remains high, and the strongest risk factors for an unfavorable outcome are those that are indicative of systemic compromise, a low level of consciousness, and infection with S. pneumoniae.

Source Information

From the Departments of Neurology (D.B., J.G., M.W., M.V.), Medical Microbiology (L.S.), and Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics (J.B.R.), Academic Medical Center; and the Netherlands Reference Laboratory for Bacterial Meningitis (L.S.) — both in Amsterdam.

Address reprint requests to Dr. van de Beek at the Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Department of Neurology H2, P.O. Box 22660, 1100 DD Amsterdam, the Netherlands, or at d.vandebeek{at}amc.uva.nl.

Full Text of this Article

Related Letters:

Prognostic Factors in Adults with Bacterial Meningitis
Joffe A. R., Østergaard C., Klussmann J. P., Guntinas-Lichius O., Altschuler E. L., van de Beek D., de Gans J., Swartz M. N.
Extract | Full Text | PDF  
N Engl J Med 2005; 352:512-515, Feb 3, 2005. Correspondence

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