Meningitis in children of ElMadina ElMunawara.

The medical records of 122 patients with meningitis admitted during one year reviewed. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) culture confirmed bacterial meningitis in 59; of the remaining 63, 35 were partially treated bacterial, 25 were viral, and three were tuberculous meningitis. Eighty-two patients (65%) were Saudi and most were younger than 5 years. Hemophilus influenzae was the most common pathogen isolated in patients younger than one year, and Neisseria meningiditis was the most common organism identified overall, especially in cases occurring during the Haj. CSF culture and the latex agglutation test were the most reliable in confirming diagnosis.