TITLE:
In Hospital Death among under Five Years Children Hospitalized with Meningitis in the Eastern of the Democratic Republic of Congo
AUTHORS:
Jeannière Tumusifu Manegabe, Furaha Bidhoro, John Peter Mulindwa, Muke Kitoga, Fikiri Bavure, Mambo Mwilo, Kanku Tudiandike, Archippe Muhandule Birindwa
KEYWORDS:
Children, Suspected Meningitis, Cerebrospinal Fluid, Mortality
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Pediatrics,
Vol.13 No.3,
May
15,
2023
ABSTRACT: Background: Meningitis is a major public health problem needing
timely diagnosis, appropriate treatment, prevention and control. Despite the
advances in diagnosis and treatment of
infectious diseases, meningitis is still considered as an important cause of
mortality and morbidity, especially in the paediatric population of
lower income countries such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo).
In this study, we aimed to analyse the fatality aspect of suspected meningitis
among children under five years. Materials and Methods: A prospective, descriptive study was carried out in the Paediatrics departments of four hospitals in the
South-Kivu province in the Eastern part of the DR Congo from April 2021 to
March 2022. Of the 1386 children enrolled, 251 children were suspected of
meningitis. This study captures data generated in the framework of routine
medical practice, which includes medical history, clinical diagnosis and
results of locally conducted laboratory tests. Results: Throughout the study period, a total of 251 patients
(18.1%) aged 1 month to 59 months with suspected meningitis were recruited out
of 1386 children hospitalized in the Paediatrics. The fatality among
hospitalized children with suspected meningitis during the study period was
27.9%, however the mortality linked to
meningitis decreases with age, ranging from 37.5% among children under 2 years to
19.4% among those over 2 years old. Children hospitalized for meningitis with
malnutrition as an underlying conditions, had a 3.5 times greater risk of
dying. The case fatality rate was higher in transferred and not vaccinated
children respectively (2.3 and 2.5 times). We observe that the death occurs
early within the first 3 days. Conclusion: Our study noted a higher fatality rate in children
with suspected meningitis that could probably be linked to the gape in vaccination and malnutrition as
underline condition.