Risk factors associated with the outcomes of pediatric bacterial meningitis: a systematic review

Objective

The aim of this study was to systematically review the literature and answer the following central question: “What are the risk factors associated with worse clinical outcomes of pediatric bacterial meningitis patients?”

Methods

The articles were obtained through literary search using electronic bibliographic databases: Web of Science, Scopus, MEDLINE, and LILACS; they were selected using the international guideline outlined by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta‐analysis Protocols.

Results

The literature search identified 1,244 articles. After methodological screening, 17 studies were eligible for this systematic review. A total of 9,581 patients aged between 0 days and 18 years were evaluated in the included studies, and several plausible and important prognostic factors are proposed for prediction of poor outcomes after bacterial meningitis in childhood. Late diagnosis reduces the chances for a better evolution and reinforces the importance of a high diagnostic suspicion of meningitis, especially in febrile pictures with nonspecific symptomatology. S. pneumoniae as a causative pathogen was demonstrated to be related to clinical severity.

Conclusions

Early prediction of an adverse outcome may help determine which children require more intensive or longer follow‐up and may provide the physician with rationale for parental counseling about their child's prognosis in an early phase of the disease.