pediatrics
Bacterial Meningitis in Infants Over 3 Months of Age
Prognosis for Bacterial Meningitis in Infants
Among older infants and children, the mortality rate with bacterial meningitis is about 5 to 10%, and neurologic morbidity (eg, sensorineural hearing loss, intellectual disability, spasticity and paresis, seizure disorder) occurs in 15 to 25%. Sensorineural deafness is most common after pneumococcal meningitis. In older infants and children, mortality rates vary from 3 to 5% when the cause isH. influenzaetype b, 5 to 10% when the cause isN. meningitidis, and 10 to 20% when the cause isS. pneumoniae. 