Bacterial Meningitis Among Children and Antibiotic Sensitivity Patterns in the East of Libya

Bacterial meningitis (BM) is a lifethreatening infection that must be recognized and treated as soon as possible. Bacterial meningitis continues to have a high mortality rate of 100% in untreated cases. According to the WHO, over 171,000 individuals die from the condition each year, despite the fact that treatment is effective. Objectives: To investigate the case management and disease burden of bacterial meningitis among children admitted to Benghazi Medical Hospital for a year, to investigate the trends of bacterial etiology among cases of meningitis, and to isolate, identify, and determine the antibiotic susceptibility patterns of pathogens associated with bacterial meningitis. Material and methods: Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples were taken from children admitted to Pediatric Hospital units, ranging in age from a few days to 13 years, who were suspected of having bacterial meningitis. The doctor usually performs a lumbar puncture. Result: The data for this retrospective investigation was gathered from laboratory records and statistical units. The microbiology unit tested 6306 CSF samples from children from a clinically suspected episode of meningitis. There were (400) cases of BM diagnosed clinically in children, 103 cases of positive CSF bacterial culture, and (77) cases of positive gram staining (41 percent). Meningitis was found in the majority of cases in 225 (56%) male children compared to 175 (44%) female children. Males outnumbered girls by a factor of two (1.3-1). The most common symptom was fever (90 percent), followed by vomiting (60 percent), and poor oral intake (40 percent) (51 percent). The mortality rate was (7%) and coagulase-negative staphylococcus was the most common pathogen isolated (55%), followed by E. coli (15.5%). Next, Staph aureus (14.6), followed by Streptococcus pneumonia (11.7%), Klebsiella pneumonia (9.7%), Acinetobacter spp.(5.8%), and Pseudomonas spp (4.9%). Among the seasonal effect, the highest incidence in the study area occurred in August. Conclusion: E. coli and St. pneumonia were the main causative pathogens of bacterial meningitis in children the area under study. Most species had relatively high resistance to conventional antibiotics as compared to the past.