Clinical features, acute complications, and outcome of Salmonella meningitis in children under one year of age in Taiwan

Table 1 Admission features and progress of the twenty-four patients with Salmonella meningitis

Characteristics	Cases (N = 24) n (%)
Male: Female	15: 9
Age at onset, days*	79 ± 44.5 (range, 5 to 266)
Onset of symptoms before admission, days*	2.1 ± 0.74 (range,1 to 3)
Clinical features present between onset of symptoms and day of diagnosis
Fever	24 (100)
Lethargy	6 (25)
Irritability	10 (42)
Poor feeding	20 (83)
Diarrhea	8 (33)
Vomiting	9 (38)
Bulging anterior fontanel	13 (54)
Nuchal rigidity	9 (38)
Seizure	15 (63)
Salmonella isolates
CSF	24 (100)
Blood	13 (59)
Stool	3 (17)
Urine	1 (6)
Antibiotics
CM	1(4)
AC, CM	2 (8)
AC, third-generation cephalosporins	6 (25)
CM, third-generation cephalosporins	4 (17)
AC, CM, third-generation cephalosporins	2 (8)
AG, third-generation cephalosporins	2 (8)
Third-generation cephalosporins	7 (29)
Duration of hospitalization, days*	32.1 ± 12.2 (range, 14 to 74)
Condition at discharge
Survival	21 (88)
No disability	8 (33)
Disability	13 (54)
Ongoing seizure	7 (29)
Focal motor weakness	10 (42)
Cranial nerve palsy	2 (8)
Death	3 (13)
Relapse	1 (4)

*Values are presented as mean ± SD with range in parentheses; n (%), case number with percentage of the patients with positive findings in parentheses; ^#Denotes CSF cultures done in 24 cases, blood cultures in 22, urine cultures in 16, and stool cultures in 18; third-generation cephalosporins: cefotaxime, moxalaxtam, ceftriaxone, and ceftazidime; AC, Ampicllin; AG, aminoglycoside; CM, Chloramphenicol; disability, impairment of physical ability and seizure.

ISSN: 1471-2334