Journal List > Korean J Pediatr Infect Dis > v.14(1) > 1096195

Kim, Park, Park, Hong, Lee, and Shin: The etiology of neonatal bacterial meningitis in Busan, Korea

Abstract

Purpose

Neonatal bacterial meningitis has been known that its mortality and morbidity is high and its neurologic complications are common. This study was performed to review of the etiology of neonatal bacterial meningitis in Busan, Korea.

Methods

We retrospectively analyzed 21 medical records of patients who were diagnosed neonatal bacterial meningitis in four university hospitals in Busan from January 1997 to December 2005. We analyzed age at onset of symptoms, symptoms at admission, causative organisms, and complications.

Results

There were 11 male patients and 10 female patients. One premature neonate was included. 7 patients had symptoms at 2–3 weeks after birth and 6 patients at 1–2 weeks after birth. 18 cases had fever, 8 cases had seizure and some had poor feeding, lethargy and irritability. The most common organism causing neonatal bacterial meningitis was Group B streptococcus (GBS). 11 cases were due to GBS, 3 cases due to E. coli, 3 cases were due to Klebsiella pneumoniae, and 2 cases due to Streptococcus pneumoniae. one Listeria monocytogenes and one Enterobacter cloacae were included. 18 patients were alive and 3 patients died. Mental retardation, developmental delay and epilepsy occurred in a living patient.

Conclusions

Although this was a retrospective study, we found that Group B streptococcus (GBS) was the most common organism causing neonatal bacterial meningitis and this data is nearly same as others in the world.

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