A cross-sectional study of clinical features of bacterial meningitis among neonates presumed to have sepsis in a tertiary hospital, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

Identifying meningitis among neonates is usually challenging given the non-specific presentation and overlap with neonatal sepsis. This study was aimed at determining the pertinent clinical features that would suggest bacterial meningitis among infants with signs of possible serious bacterial infection and their outcomes. This hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted among neonates presenting with clinical features of sepsis admitted at Muhimbili National Hospital (MNH) between May and December 2015. Detailed clinical features, blood cultures, and cerebrospinal fluid were obtained. The specimens were tested at the Central Pathology Laboratory at MNH. Short-term clinical outcome was also determined for recruited participants. One hundred and twenty-six neonates met the inclusion criteria and were recruited, males were 67 (53.2%) and the mean age of participants was 10.4 ± 7.9 days. Features of meningitis were noted among 19% (24/126) and very low birth weight neonates were observed to have a statistically higher prevalence of meningitis (p=0.038). Bacterial isolates from cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) culture were Klebsiella spp and E. coli, while predominant isolates from blood culture were Klebsiella spp (35%) and E. coli (20.6%). There was high resistance to ampicillin (91.2%), cloxacillin (94.1%), gentamycin (50%), and ceftriaxone (50%). A high mortality of 24.9% was noted. Neonatal meningitis is common among neonates with sepsis, and bacterial isolates were resistant to routinely used antibiotics. High mortality attributed to meningitis was noted at Muhimbili National Hospital.