[Risk factors in suppurative meningitis in children (author's transl)].

Retrospective studies of the case histories of 237 children suffering from bacterial meningitis at the department of pediatrics, university of Graz, show the significant difference between cured, deceased and children with permanent sequels. The risk factors for the fatal outcome of meningitis were: age (less than 1 year), bacteria (pneumococcus), concomitant disease (pneumonia), low initial white cell count in the blood (less than or equal to 5000/cmm) as well as in cerebrospinal fluid (less than or equal to 4000/cmm), high cerebrospinal fluid protein (greater than or equal to 336 mg%) and a high bacterial inoculum (greater than or equal to 10(7) CFU/cmm). With all these risk factors at the time of diagnosis of purulent meningitis the chance for recovery is poor.