Electrophysiologic studies, computed tomography, and neurologic outcome in acute bacterial meningitis.

To determine the value of computed tomography and electrophysiologic studies in predicting neurologic outcome, we prospectively studied 41 children with acute bacterial meningitis, using clinical examination, computed tomography of the head, electroencephalography, brain-stem auditory evoked response, and visual evoked potential mapping during the acute illness. Two children died; 32 of the remaining 39 children were reviewed clinically, electrophysiologically, and with computed tomography between 5 and 38 months after the illness. The electrophysiologic data obtained during the illness were not found to alter the acute-stage management. Focal or generalized suppression, demonstrated on the electroencephalogram, was associated with a poor outcome. Cerebral infarction and edema, demonstrated by computed tomography of the head, were predictive of a poor outcome, but enlarged ventricular and subarachnoid spaces and increased subdural effusions were of no predictive value. Neither computed tomographic scans nor electrophysiologic data were better indicators of neurologic prognosis than the clinical examination.