Childhood meningitis at King Fahad Hospital, Hofuf, Saudi Arabia.

The medical records of 132 children with meningitis treated at King Fahad Hospital, Hofuf, Saudi Arabia, between June 1994 and May 1996, were reviewed with a view to defining the incidence, types of meningitis, their management and clinical outcome. Subjects were classified into three groups: bacterial, partially treated, and viral meningitis. There were 37 patients (28%) in period I (1994/95) and 95 (72%) in period II (1995/96). The higher incidence in period II was accounted for by a sharply increased incidence of viral meningitis in the latter half of the period. Of the 132 patients, 36 (27.3%) had bacterial meningitis, 45 (34.1%) had partially treated meningitis and 51 (38.6%) had viral meningitis. The most common CSF isolate was Haemophilus influenzae type B (HIB) from 24 (66.7%) of the 36 bacterial meningitis cases. About half of the cases of HIB meningitis occurred in infants under the age of 12 months.