All issues > Volume 46(11); 2003

Original Article

J Korean Pediatr Soc. 2003;46(11):1085-1088. Published online November 15, 2003.

Causative Organisms in Children with Bacterial Meningitis(1992-2002)

Hyun-Jung HJ Kim¹, JI-Won JW Lee¹, Kyung-Yil KY Lee¹, Hyung-Shin HS Lee¹, Ja-Hyun JH Hong¹, Seung-Hoon SH Hahn¹, Kyung-Tai KT Whang¹

¹Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea

Correspondence Kyung-Yil KY Lee ,Email: leekyungyil@catholic.ac.kr

Abstract

Purpose
: This study was performed to assess the difference of organisms causing bacterial meningitis according to time.
Methods
: We analyzed retrospectively 40 medical records of bacteriologically proven meningitis from 1992 to 2002. We divided them into two groups; neonate's group(14 cases), and children's group(26 cases). The results of the neonate's group were compared with those of previously reported articles in Korea, in 1970s-1980s. The causative agents of the children's group were analyzed according to the stage before and after the introduction of H. influenza type b(Hib) vaccine.
Results
: In neonates, Group B streptococci(GBS) was the most common cause of bacterial meningitis. There was a trend in Korea that major causative agents of neonatal bacterial meningitis have changed from gram negative bacteria including E. coli to gram positive bacteria including GBS. In children, H. influenzae was isolated in six out of 11 cases(55%) in 1992-95, before the introduction of Hib vaccine, while two out of seven(29%) were isolated in 1999-2002, after the introduction of the Hib vaccine.
Conclusion
: Our study showed that the most common agent of neonatal bacterial meningitis was GBS. There was a trend that after the introduction of Hib vaccine, the incidence of H. influenza meningitis decreased in children.

Keywords :Bacterial meningitis, H. influenzae type b vaccine, Neonate, Children