Culture- and antigen-negative meningitis in Guatemalan children / Meningitis negativa a pruebas antigénicas y de cultivo en niños guatemaltecos

OBJECTIVE: To compare children with confirmed bacterial meningitis (CBM) and those with culture- and latex-negative meningitis (CLN). METHODS: Children 1 to 59 months of age admitted to three major referral hospitals in Guatemala City with clinical signs compatible with bacterial infections were evaluated prospectively between 1 October 1996 and 31 December 2005. Bacterial cultures and latex agglutination antigen testing were performed on samples of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). RESULTS: The case-fatality rate was significantly higher in the 493 children with CBM than in the 528 children with CLN (27.6 percent and 14.9 percent, respectively; P < 0.001). Children with CBM were less likely to have received antibiotics and more likely to have seizures, shock, or coma on admission than children with CLN. Among the 182 CBM survivors and 205 CLN survivors studied between October 2000 and December 2005, clinically observed sequelae were present at discharge in a higher percentage of the CBM than of the CLN group (78.6 percent and 46.8 percent, respectively; P < 0.0001). CSF glucose < 10 mg/dL, peripheral neutrophils < 2 000 cells/mm³, coma or shock at admission, and concurrent sepsis or pneumonia were risk factors for mortality in children with CBM; only coma or shock at admission predicted mortality in children with CLN. CONCLUSIONS: The high case-fatality and sequelae rates suggest that many children with CLN may have had bacterial meningitis. Estimates based on confirmed meningitis alone underestimate the true vaccine-preventable disease burden. Additional studies to determine etiologies of CLN in this population are indicated.

OBJETIVO: Comparar los casos infantiles de meningitis bacteriana confirmada (MBC) y meningitis negativa a pruebas de látex y de cultivo (MNLC). MÉTODOS: Se evaluaron los niños de 1 a 59 meses de edad ingresados en tres grandes hospitales de referencia de la Ciudad de Guatemala entre el 1 de octubre de 1996 y el 31 de diciembre de 2005 con signos clínicos de infección bacteriana. Se realizaron cultivos bacterianos y pruebas de aglutinación antigénica con látex en muestras de líquido cefalorraquídeo (LCR). RESULTADOS: La tasa de letalidad fue significativamente mayor en los 493 niños con MBC que en los 528 niños con MNLC (27,6 por ciento y 14,9 por ciento, respectivamente; P < 0,001). Los niños con MBC tuvieron menor probabilidad de recibir antibióticos y mayor de sufrir convulsiones, choques o entrar en coma al ser ingresados que los niños con MNLC. Se observó un mayor porcentaje de manifestaciones clínicas de secuelas al alta hospitalaria en los 182 niños sobrevivientes con MBC que en los 205 sobrevivientes con MNLC estudiados entre octubre de 2000 y diciembre de 2005 (78,6 por ciento y 46,8 por ciento, respectivamente; P < 0,0001). Los factores de riesgo de muerte en los niños con MBC fueron: glucosa en LCR < 10 mg/dL, neutrófilos periféricos < 2 000 células/mm³, coma o choque al ingreso, y sepsis o neumonía concurrentes; solo el coma y el choque al ingreso predijeron la muerte en niños con MNLC. CONCLUSIONES: Las altas tasas de letalidad y de secuelas indican que muchos niños con MNLC pueden haber tenido meningitis bacteriana. Las estadísticas basadas solamente en los casos confirmados de meningitis subestiman la verdadera carga de enfermedad prevenible mediante vacuna. Se deben emprender estudios adicionales para determinar las etiologías de la MNLC en esta población.

Meningitis and pneumonia in Guatemalan children: the importance of Haemophilus influenzae type b and Streptococcus pneumoniae

OBJECTIVE: To determine the epidemiology of Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) and Streptococcus pneumoniae invasive infections in hospitalized Guatemalan children. This is an important issue since Hib vaccine has not been incorporated into the routine immunization program in Guatemala and information from hospital records in 1995 indicated a low incidence of Hib and S. pneumoniae as causes of meningitis and invasive infections. METHODS: Children who were hospitalized in Guatemala City with clinical signs compatible with bacterial infections were evaluated for evidence of Hib or S. pneumoniae infection. Normally sterile body fluids were cultured, and antigen detection was performed on cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and pleural fluid. RESULTS: Of 1 203 children 1-59 months of age hospitalized over a 28-month period, 725 of them (60.3 percent) had a primary diagnosis of pneumonia, 357 (29.7 percent) of meningitis, 60 (5.0 percent) of cellulitis, and 61 (5.1 percent) of sepsis and other conditions. Hib was identified in 20.0 percent of children with meningitis and S. pneumoniae in 12.9 percent. The average annual incidence of Hib meningitis was 13.8 cases per 100 000 children under 5 years of age, and 32.4 percent of meningitides caused by Hib and 58.7 percent of S. pneumoniae meningitides occurred prior to 6 months of age. Case fatality rates were 14.1 percent, 37.0 percent, and 18.0 percent, respectively, for children with Hib, S. pneumoniae, and culture-negative and antigen-negative meningitis. Prior antibiotic therapy was common and was associated with significant reductions in CSF-culture-positive results for children with other evidence of Hib or S. pneumoniae meningitis. CONCLUSIONS: Improvements in case detection, culture methods, and latex agglutination for antigen detection in CSF resulted in identification of Hib and S. pneumoniae as important causes of severe disease in Guatemalan children. Using a cutoff of > 10 white blood cells per cubic millimeter in CSF would improve the sensitivity for detection of bacterial meningitis and help estimate the burden of bacterial meningitis in Guatemala and other developing countries.

Avances recientes en inmunizacion: una revision bibliografica / Recent advances in immunization: a bibliographic review

La presente revision se llevoa a cabo con la intencion de dar respuesta a las preguntas mas comunes que formulan los profesionales de la salud encargados de la aplicacion de programas de vacunacion. Abarca aspectos tales como: edad optima para administrar la vacuna antisarampionosa en paises en desarrollo; aspectos operativos del uso de vacuna oral de poliovirus; toxoides difterico y tetanico y vacuna antitosferinica; uso del toxoide tetanico para la prevencion del tetanos neonatal; administracion simultanea de vacunas; efectos de la malnutricion y las parasitosis en la respuesta inmunologica. Evaluacion de los riesgos de la vacuna en ninos malnutridos.