• Arch Pediat Adol Med · Dec 2002

    Children with meningeal signs: predicting who needs empiric antibiotic treatment.

    • Rianne Oostenbrink, Karel G M Moons, Minke J Twijnstra, Diederick E Grobbee, and Henriette A Moll.
    • Sophia Children's Hospital, Outpatient Department of Pediatrics, Room Sp 1545, Dr Molewaterplein 60, 3015 GJ Rotterdam, The Netherlands. oostenbrink@alkg.azr.nl
    • Arch Pediat Adol Med. 2002 Dec 1;156(12):1189-94.

    BackgroundSince delayed diagnosis and treatment of bacterial meningitis worsens patient prognosis, clinicians have a low threshold to perform a lumbar puncture or to start empiric antibiotic treatment in patients suspected of having meningitis.ObjectiveTo develop a decision rule, including cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) indices and clinical characteristics, to determine whether empiric antibiotic treatment should be started in children with meningeal signs.DesignMultivariable logistic regression analysis of retrospectively collected data. Bacterial meningitis was defined as a CSF leukocyte count of more than 5/ micro L with positive bacterial culture findings from CSF or blood specimens.SettingPediatric emergency department of a pediatric university hospital.PatientsA total of 227 children (aged 1 month to 15 years) with meningeal signs.Main Outcome MeasureThe diagnostic value of adding early obtainable CSF indices to clinical characteristics to predict bacterial meningitis.ResultsIndependent predictors of bacterial meningitis from early obtainable CSF indices were the CSF polymorphonuclear leukocyte count and the CSF-blood glucose ratio. The diagnostic value (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve) of this CSF model was 0.93. Application of the model together with clinical characteristics could predict early the absence of bacterial meningitis in 69 (30%) of the 227 patients so that empiric antibiotic treatment could be safely withheld.ConclusionA diagnostic decision rule that uses clinical characteristics at admission, the CSF polymorphonuclear leukocyte count, and the CSF-blood glucose ratio is a useful tool for deciding whether to start empiric antibiotics in children with meningeal signs.

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