Long-term outcome of group B streptococcal meningitis.

Group B Streptococcus is a common cause of neonatal sepsis and meningitis. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the neurologic, psychologic, and academic status of children who had group B streptococcal meningitis and to compare these children with their siblings. Seventy-four children who acquired group B streptococcal meningitis between one day and 6 months of life formed the study population. Survivors were 3 to 18 years old at the time of their follow-up evaluations. Twenty children (27%) died, two were institutionalized, one severely affected child died at age 2 years, 15 were assessed by phone interview, and two were lost to follow-up. Thirty-four children and 21 siblings were comprehensively evaluated with physical and neurologic examinations, hearing tests, and tests of intellectual, perceptual-motor, and behavioral-adaptive functions. Of the total population, nine children (12%) had major neurologic sequelae (spastic quadraplegia, profound mental retardation, hemiparesis, deafness, or blindness). Six children had acute hydrocephalus; two were doing well after shunt placement. In general, those children surviving group B streptococcal meningitis without major sequelae appeared to be functioning normally or comparably to their sibling in intellectual, social, and academic matters.