ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: The aims of this study were to assess aetiology and clinical characteristics in childhood meningitis, and develop clinical decision rules to distinguish bacterial meningitis from other similar clinical syndromes. METHODS: Children aged <16 years hospitalised with suspected meningitis/encephalitis were included, and prospectively recruited at 31 UK hospitals. Meningitis was defined as identification of bacteria/viruses from cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and/or a raised CSF white blood cell count. New clinical decision rules were developed to distinguish bacterial from viral meningitis and those of alternative aetiology. RESULTS: The cohort included 3002 children (median age 2·4 months); 1101/3002 (36·7%) had meningitis, including 180 bacterial, 423 viral and 280 with no pathogen identified. Enterovirus was the most common pathogen in those aged <6 months and 10-16 years, with Neisseria meningitidis and/or Streptococcus pneumoniae commonest at age 6 months to 9 years. The Bacterial Meningitis Score had a negative predictive value of 95·3%. We developed two clinical decision rules, that could be used either before (sensitivity 82%, specificity 71%) or after lumbar puncture (sensitivity 84%, specificity 93%), to determine risk of bacterial meningitis. CONCLUSIONS: Bacterial meningitis comprised 6% of children with suspected meningitis/encephalitis. Our clinical decision rules provide potential novel approaches to assist with identifying children with bacterial meningitis. FUNDING: This study was funded by the Meningitis Research Foundation, Pfizer and the NIHR Programme Grants for Applied Research.
Subject(s)
Meningitis, Bacterial , Meningitis, Viral , Vaccines, Conjugate , Humans , Child , Infant , Meningitis, Bacterial/diagnosis , Meningitis, Bacterial/cerebrospinal fluid , Meningitis, Bacterial/microbiology , Child, Preschool , Adolescent , Female , Male , Prospective Studies , Meningitis, Viral/diagnosis , Meningitis, Viral/cerebrospinal fluid , Clinical Decision Rules , United Kingdom/epidemiology , Neisseria meningitidis/isolation & purification , Streptococcus pneumoniae/isolation & purification , Decision Support TechniquesSubject(s)
Catholicism , Hospital-Physician Joint Ventures/organization & administration , Hospital-Physician Relations , Hospitals, Religious/organization & administration , Community Health Planning , Efficiency, Organizational , Managed Care Programs/organization & administration , Organizational Innovation , Organizational Objectives , Practice Management, Medical , United StatesABSTRACT
Air monitoring was performed at a hazardous waste remedial action site to measure inhalation exposure at the drum bulking unit processes and ambient emissions downwind from that process. Contaminant concentrations were all well below permissible exposure limits. This study suggests that when workers remain in fixed job locations at hazardous waste sites, occupational inhalation exposure monitoring must consider contaminants generated upwind of the job location as well as contaminants generated at the specific job site. Air sampling must also consider both the particulate and vapor phases of the site contaminants.
