Pediatric Bacterial Meningitis Closely Linked to Long-Term Disabilities: JAMA

In a recent nationwide study published in the Journal of American Medical Association uncovered concerning relationship between childhood bacterial meningitis and an increased risk of long-term disabilities.

This comprehensive retrospective cohort study utilized the medical records of 3,623 individuals diagnosed with bacterial meningitis before the age of 18 and compared them with 32,607 age, sex, and residence-matched controls. The data from the Swedish National Patient Register from 1987 to 2021 formed the basis of this extensive analysis.

The study which was conducted from July 2022 to November 2023 revealed a significantly elevated cumulative incidence of seven disabilities in those who had previously faced childhood bacterial meningitis. These disabilities included cognitive impairments, seizures, hearing loss, motor function disorders, visual disturbances, behavioral and emotional disorders, and intracranial structural injuries.

Almost 30% of the group exhibited at least one disability during a median follow-up time of 23.7 years. The highest absolute risks were associated with behavioral and emotional disorders, hearing loss, and visual disturbances. Behavioral and emotional disorders, hearing loss and visual disturbances carried the highest absolute risk. The cases had significantly increased relative risks for all disabilities in the study. The largest adjusted Hazard Ratios (HRs) were observed for intracranial structural injuries (26.04), hearing loss (7.90) and motor function disorders (4.65).

Streptococcus pneumoniae infection carried substantially higher risks for cognitive disabilities, seizures, hearing loss and motor function disorders when compared to Haemophilus influenzae or Neisseria meningitidis infections. Children diagnosed below the median age faced significantly higher adjusted HRs for cognitive disabilities, seizures, behavioral and emotional disorders and intracranial structural injuries.

These findings underline the potential long-term consequences of childhood bacterial meningitis in emphasizing the need for vigilant monitoring of survivors. Pneumococcal meningitis and early-age diagnoses correlated with higher risks suggests that targeted interventions might be necessary.

Source:

Mohanty, S., Johansson Kostenniemi, U., Silfverdal, S. A., Salomonsson, S., Iovino, F., Sarpong, E. M., Bencina, G., & Bruze, G. (2024). Increased risk of long-term disabilities following childhood bacterial meningitis in Sweden. JAMA Network Open, 7(1), e2352402. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.52402