Epidemiological Feature of Pediatric Aseptic Meningitis-Report of a Regional Teaching Hospital

PurposesAseptic meningitis refers to a clinical syndrome of meningeal inflammation in which bacteria cannot be identified in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). This study aimed at investigating seasonal variation, clinical symptoms, and CSF changes in pediatric patients with aseptic meningitis admitted in a regional teaching hospital.MethodsDuring the 6-year study period (January 2006 to December 2012), pediatric patients admitted to the hospital with aseptic meningitis were reviewed retrospectively. Epidemiological characteristics, clinical presentation, and laboratory data were collected and analyzed.ResultsA total of 41 children (30 males and 11 females, mean age 7.7 years) were evaluated in this study. Most of the cases occurred during summer (73.2%). The dominant clinical symptoms were fever (100%), headache (68%), and vomiting (61%). Neck stiffness was noted in 63 % of the patients. The mean CSF white blood cell (WBC) count was 487.6±155.5 cells/mm^3 (range 10 to 3,406). There were 75.61% of patients had a CSF WBC count less than 500 cells/mm^3 and 78.05% of patients revealed a CSF lymphocytes predominance (＞50%). The causative agents of most cases were unidentified, and viruses were detected in only 5 patients. There were no serious complications or death event.ConclusionsThe causative agents of aseptic meningitis were unidentified in most of patients. The CSF features were helpful to be used for diagnosis. Aseptic meningitis was found to be more frequent during the summer and its prognosis appeared to be excellent.