Cerebrospinal meningitis: a global disease with regional variability?

INTRODUCTION

In this edition, Szymanski et al. present the results of their retrospective study of the clinical differences between patients with meningococcal meningitis and pneumococcal cerebrospinal meningitis at the Regional Specialistic Hospital in Wroclaw, Poland.

CLINICAL REFLECTIONS: The authors found that compared to patients with N. meningitidis, patients with S. pneumoniae were older, more frequently had chronic comorbidities, and had higher rates of pneumonia, longer hospitalisations, and higher mortality. Patients with N. meningitidis had higher rates of haemorrhagic rash and DIC.

CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: These characteristics and outcomes reflect previous reports from Western Europe and the United States.