1043-3155 Pediatr Neurol Briefs pedneurbriefs Pediatr Neurol Briefs Pediatric Neurology Briefs Pediatr Neurol Briefs 2166-6482 1043-3155 2166-3155 Pediatric Neurology Briefs Publishers Chicago, IL, USA PNB-6-91 10.15844/pedneurbriefs-6-12-4 Infectious Disorders Neurology Pediatrics Nervous System Diseases Child Development Brain Diseases Neurosurgery Child Infant CT in Acute Meningitis http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0173-7931 Millichap J. Gordon MD 1 2 * Division of Neurology, Children's Memorial Hospital, Chicago, IL Departments of Pediatrics and Neurology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL Correspondence: Dr. J. Gordon Millichap, E-mail: jgmillichap@northwestern.edu 12 1992 01 07 2016 6 12 91 92 Copyright: © 1992 The Author(s) 1992 This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Does computed tomography have a role in the evaluation of complicated acute bacterial meningitis in childhood?

The role of CT in the acute management of bacterial meningitis in 30 children was evaluated at the Department of Pediatrics, St. Mary’s Hospital Medical School, London, England.

 Acute Bacterial Meningitis Mental Retardation Basal Ganglia Infarcts

The role of CT in the acute management of bacterial meningitis in 30 children was evaluated at the Department of Pediatrics, St. Mary’s Hospital Medical School, London, England. Cranial CT was normal in 10 patients, 5 with raised intracranial pressure, 1 with focal neurological signs and 1 with generalized convulsions. Significant CT abnormalities were detected in 10 patients, 4 with subdural effusion, 4 with cerebral infarct, 1 hydrocephalus, and 1 empyema. CT identified a surgical abnormality in 2 patients with progressive focal neurological signs. [1]

COMMENT. This study shows that the role of CT in the management of acute bacterial meningitis is limited, but may be valuable in those with progressive neurological signs for whom neurosurgical intervention may be necessary.

The long-term follow-up of acute bacterial meningitis in 74 children is reported from Taiyuan City, China [2]. Neurologic sequelae occurred in 33.8% of survivors: 54% had mental retardation, 50% epilepsy, 33% paralysis, 16% sensorineural hearing loss and 4% blindness. Other abnormalities included growth retardation, hyperactivity and irritability. Dexamethasone reduced the incidence of hearing loss.

Cranial CT conducted in 199 children with tuberculous meningitis in Cape Town, Republic of South Africa, showed basal ganglia infarcts in 30%, which corresponded with hemiplegia. [3]

 Heyderman RS Robb SA Kendall BE Levin M Does computed tomography have a role in the evaluation of complicated acute bacterial meningitis in childhood? Dev Med Child Neurol 1992 Oct 34 10 870 875 10.1111/j.1469-8749.1992.tb11384.x 1356862 Yi LY Qiong YS Long-term follow-up of acute bacterial meningitis in children Pediatr Neurol 1992 Sept/Oct 8 5 404 (abstract) 10.1016/0887-8994(92)90328-V Schoeman JF Donald PR Van Zyl LL Repeated CT scans in 199 children with tuberculous meningitis Pediatr Neurol 1992 Sept/Oct 8 5 355 (abstract) 10.1016/0887-8994(92)90130-Q