PURPOSE: Bacterial meningitis is a serious disease, especially in the neonatal period, and it carries a significant degree of mortality and morbidity. Group B streptococcus(GBS) is a common cause of neonatal bacterial meningitis. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the clinical manifestations, treatment results and complications of GBS meningitis. METHODS: We analyzed 29 cases retrospectively who had been admitted to the pediatric ward or NICU in Asan Medical Center from May 1990 to January 2002. They had proven GBS in culture or latex agglutination test in CSF. RESULTS: The male to female ratio was 1 : 1.9. There were two cases of early onset type and 27 cases of late onset type. All cases had normal birth weight with full term at delivery. The perinatal predisposing factors were premature rupture of membrane(two cases), and maternal colonization(two cases). The most common presenting symptoms were fever and irritability. Associated diseases were GBS sepsis(21 cases). There was relatively high sensitivity to penicillin derivatives. There were abnormal brain CT or MRI findings in 16 cases(64%), such as infarction, encephalomalatic change, effusion, hydrocephalus, hemorrhage and abscess. The intensive care unit admission rate and the incidence of DIC were higher in the group with complications. Two cases were discharged against advice. CONCLUSIONS: We recommend early detection and active treatment in Group B streptococcal meningitis to improve the prognosis.
Abscess ; Birth Weight ; Brain ; Causality ; Chungcheongnam-do ; Dacarbazine ; Female ; Fever ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Hydrocephalus ; Incidence ; Infarction ; Intensive Care Units ; Latex Fixation Tests ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Meningitis* ; Meningitis, Bacterial ; Mortality ; Penicillins ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies ; Rupture