An Epidemiologic and Microbiologic Profile of Children Aged 0-59 Months Admitted with Suspected Meningitis in VSMMC, Cebu, Philippines

Background& Objective Meningitis is an important cause of morbidity and mortality in low-resource settings& remains a major cause of long term neurological sequelae worldwide. The purpose of present study was to identify the epidemiological and microbiological profile of suspected meningitis admitted in VSMMC, Cebu. This study provides information on meningitis causing pathogens and also justifies the importance of vaccines or other control measures as a strategy for improving population health. Materials& Methods Present study was undertaken from 1st May 2013 to 30th April 2014 included 180 suspected meningitis cases. CSF samples of clinically suspected meningitis cases in age group (0-59) months were subjected to macroscopic/ microscopic examination, Grams stain and culture tests. The collected data were analyzed by using descriptive and inferential statistics. Results Forty-eight samples out of 180 cases were positive on CSF culture. Streptococcus pneumonia (31.25 %) was the most common pathogen. Streptococcus mitis (4.17 %) was most common among age less than 1 month and Streptococcus pneumonia (16.67 %) was the most common pathogen among age group (1-23) months. Similarly, Mec-A Streptococcus hominius (20.83 %) was the most common pathogen among age 24 months and above.41 out of 48 cases of isolates were gram positive pathogen. There was significant association between age of child and duration of symptoms at the time of admission (p-value=0.001). Conclusion Regular prevalence, epidemiological and microbiological studies will help to detect the change in causative organism of meningitis and also help pediatricians in choosing an appropriate antimicrobial agent in VSMMC. The high prevalence of drug resistant pathogens is a cause for worry and should be dealt with by rational use of antibiotics.