Meningitis in children beyond the neonatal period in Gondar University hospital.

Bacterial meningitis is one of the most serious infections in infants and children. The infection is associated with a high rate of complications. This is a retrospective study of 151 children with meningitis admitted to Gondar University hospital over a period of five years. There were 100 males and 51 females making male to female ratio 2:1. Forty seven (31.1%) of them were infants below the age of 12 months. Children under the age of 5 constituted for 88 (58.3%) of all the admissions. One hundred twenty five (82.8%) of them were discharged improved, 20 (13.2%) of them died in the hospital and the rest 6 (4.0%) left the hospital before completing their treatment. Most of the deaths 13/20 (65%) occurred in the first 72 hours of hospitalization. A significant number of patients 37 (25.5%) were treated with one or more antibiotics before admission. A higher case fatality rate was observed in those less than 6 months old, arrival after 48 hours after onset of illness, altered level of sensorium and in those having respiratory distress or seizure. Early diagnosis and prompt treatment is indicated to reduce mortality of acute bacterial meningitis.