A survey of emergency penicillin treatment for meningitis.

The case fatality rate for meningococcal meningitis has changed little in recent years. A study of persons admitted to hospital in Bristol with suspected meningitis found that only five of the 41 cases admitted in 1991 were given penicillin prior to admission. Possible reasons for this include lack of awareness of the need, reluctance to give injections to children, uncertainty about dosage, failure to carry injectable penicillin and diagnostic uncertainty.