![]() In children age 1 or older, symptoms may include: Or they may develop over several days.īulging soft spots on the head (fontanelles) Symptoms can occur a bit differently in each child. The symptoms may start several days after your child has had a cold and runny nose, or diarrhea and vomiting. ![]() The symptoms of meningitis vary depending on what causes the infection. What are the symptoms of meningitis in a child? Children with a weakened immune system are at great risk. Which children are at risk for meningitis?Ī child is more at risk for meningitis if he or she has an infection caused by a number of viruses, bacteria, or fungi. It can then go into the bloodstream and reach the brain and spinal cord. In a child, it may first cause a cold, sinus infection, or ear infection. Touching infected objects, such as doorknobs, hard surfaces, or toys, and then touching nose, mouth, or eyesĭroplets from a sneeze, close conversation, or kissingĪn infection usually starts in the respiratory tract. They may be spread by:Ĭlose contact with someone carrying the infection A child may have no symptoms at all, but may carry the organism in his or her nose and throat. The bacteria, viruses, and fungi that cause meningitis usually grow in a person’s respiratory tract. Syphilis, tuberculosis, and Lyme disease bacteria can also cause meningitis. coli, Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), and a strep bacteria that causes pneumonia. Viruses that can cause meningitis include polioviruses, the mumps virus (paramyxovirus), the flu virus, and West Nile virus.īacteria that can cause meningitis include group B streptococcus, E. Bacterial meningitis is usually more severe and may lead to long-term complications or death. Meningitis caused by a virus is more common and usually less severe. This is more common only in children with a weak immune system. ![]() A fungus or parasite may also cause meningitis. CSF is the fluid that protects and cushions the brain and spinal cord. Meningitis is most often caused by a bacterial or viral infection that moves into the cerebral spinal fluid (CSF). Meningitis is a swelling (inflammation) of the thin membranes that cover the brain and the spinal cord. At probability cutoffs between 0.1 and 0.4, the model had sensitivity values between 98 and 92% and specificity values between 62 and 94%.Īmong children with CSF pleocytosis, a prediction model based exclusively on age, CSF total protein and CSF neutrophils differentiates accurately between acute bacterial and viral meningitis.Meningitis in Children What is meningitis in children? The model fit the data well (Hosmer-Lemeshow statistic P = 0.53). At an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.97, our model represented by the equation: log odds of bacterial meningitis = 0.343 - 0.003 TNC - 34.802 TP + 21.991 TP - 0.345 AGE, was highly accurate when differentiating between bacterial and enteroviral meningitis. We identified 60 children with bacterial meningitis and 82 with enteroviral meningitis. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (discrimination: criterion standard, >0.7), the Hosmer-Lemeshow deciles-of-risk statistic (calibration: criterion standard, P > 0.05) and sensitivity-specificity pairs at prespecified probability thresholds of the model were computed. A fractional polynomial model was specified and validated internally by the bootstrap procedure. Data were from children ages 1 month-18 years diagnosed with acute enteroviral or bacterial meningitis whose initial CSF revealed >7 white blood cells/mm. On the basis of previous reports, we created a reduced multivariable logistic regression model for predicting bacterial meningitis that relies on age (years) (AGE), cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), total protein (TP) and total neutrophil count (TNC) alone. In this study, we estimate the accuracy of a simple new model with potentially broader applicability. Although accurate models for predicting acute bacterial meningitis exist, most have narrow application because of the specific variables selected for them.
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