Acute bacterial meningitis caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae is an important pathology for public health because of its high morbidity and mortality. In 2012, Colombia introduced the vaccine in the compulsory vaccination scheme.
Ambispective case series study conducted in pediatric patients with meningitis admitted to 10 hospitals of Bogotá (2008-2019), and 4 hospitals of Cali, 2 of Medellín, and 1 of Cartagena (2017-2019). Objective:To perform a clinical, epidemiological and microbiological characterization of patients with meningitis caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae in Colombia from 2008 to 2019, in the hospitals included in Neumocolombia network.
58 cases were related to the pathology. The most frequent symptoms in the cohort were fever, hyporexia and somnolence. Epileptic seizures were particularly common between 4 and 12 months of age. Increased resistance to penicillin and third generation cephalosporins was found in the period 2015-2019. The mortality rate was 20.68%, and the most important sequel was cognitive dysfunction, with a frequency of 73.77%, followed by sensorineural hearing loss, motor disorders and epilepsy. Mortality was associated with low blood cell counts and high C-reactive protein, while age was associated with increased complications and sequelae.
Recent immunization schemes have changed the clinical, microbiological and epidemiological characteristics of pneumococcal meningitis in Colombia.