Background: Acute bacterial meningitis remains an important cause of morbidity, neurologic sequelae, and mortality in children in Latin America.
Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the hospital-based medical records of children diagnosed with acute bacterial meningitis, aged 1 month to 18 years, at a large inner city referral Hospital in Mexico City, for a 10-year period (1993-2003). To characterize the epidemiology, clinical features, and outcomes of acute bacterial meningitis, we subdivided our study into two time periods: the period prior to the routine use of Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) vaccine (1993-1998) and the period after the vaccine became available (1999-2003).
Results: A total of 218 cases of acute bacterial meningitis were identified during the study period. The most frequently affected age group was that of children aged between 1 and 6 months. Hib was the most commonly isolated pathogen, found in 50% of cases. However, its incidence declined significantly after the introduction of the combined diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, hepatitis B, and conjugated Hib (DTP-HB/Hib) pentavalent vaccine into the universal vaccination schedule for children in 1998. Streptococcus pneumoniae followed as the second most commonly isolated bacterial pathogen. Neisseria meningitidis was isolated in only a few cases, confirming the historically low incidence of this pathogen in Mexico. Identified risk factors for death were found to include the presence of septic shock and intracranial hypertension, but were not attributable to any particular bacterial pathogen.
Conclusions: In our hospital, acute bacterial meningitis remains a severe disease with important sequelae and mortality. The incidence of Hib meningitis cases has declined since the introduction of the Hib vaccine. However, S. pneumoniae persists as an important cause of bacterial meningitis, highlighting the need for the implementation of vaccination policies against this pathogen.