A Study of Bacterial and Viral Meningitis in Pediatric Age Group in a Tertiary Care Hospital

Abstract

Background: Meningitis, the inflammation of meninges is one of the most severe and potentially life-threatening infectious diseases. Young children are mostly at risk, but clinical severity also depends on the causative organism. Viral meningitis is underdiagnosed and under-notified. Objectives of the study are to determine the frequency of bacterial and viral meningitis and the antibiotic susceptibility pattern of bacterial isolates Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted on the CSF samples collected from children ≤ 14 years of age within a 2-years study period (August 2022 to July 2024) admitted with suspected meningitis in Pediatric department of SCSMSR, Solapur. Part of the sample was subjected to Gram staining and inoculated on chocolate agar, blood agar and MacConkey agar. Bacterial isolates were identified by biochemical reactions and antibiotic susceptibility test by disk diffusion. Multiplex PCR (TRUPCR® Neuro Panel Kit) was employed for viral study with the second part of sample. Analysing the distribution of isolates and sensitivity pattern of bacterial isolates were done using Microsoft Excel. Results: Out of 114 suspected cases, 13 (11.41%) were culture and smear positive for pyogenic meningitis and 17 (14.91%) showed viral etiology by RT-PCR. Gram positive isolates (55.56%) were more common among the bacterial isolates. Our study detected seven different types of viruses among which the most common were CMV and HSV1 (both 23.53%). Conclusion: Meningitis is a medical emergency and hence early diagnosis and treatment, are lifesaving. Since clinical signs of meningitis are not always reliable, a laboratory support is imperative, to achieve an early diagnosis. Keywords: meningitis, bacterial, viral, pediatric, CSF, PCR.