Frequency of Meningitis in Neonates with Late Onset Sepsis in Sharif Medical City

Background: Bacterial sepsis and meningitis continue to be major causes of morbidity and mortality in newborns, particularly in premature infants. The present study was undertaken to know the incidence of meningitis in neonates with late onset sepsis. Aim: To determine the frequency of meningitis in neonates with late onset sepsis. Methods: A descriptive cross sectional study was conducted in department of pediatrics at sharif medical city Lahore, from 09-12-2019 to 08-06-2020. One hundred and forty four (144) neonates with late onset sepsis fulfilling the inclusion criteria were included in study. Meningitis was confirmed on lumbar puncture and managed as per hospital protocol. Mean & sd were presented for age, gender, duration of complain and weight. Frequency and percentage were computed for gender and meningitis. Results: Mean age, weight and duration of symptoms in infants with late onset sepsis were 19.50±0.12 days, 3.97±1.17 kg and 4.05±1.98 days. Majority of infants were male i.e. 63.89% (m:f;1:1.7). Mean wbc count of the infants with late onset sepsis was 29.78±9.32.majority of infants had less than 75% neutrophils (68.05%), positive crp (91.67%) and negative blood culture test (52.78%). Frequency of meningitis in neonates with late onset sepsiswas 34.02%. Conclusions: frequency of meningitis in neonates with late onset sepsis was high i.e. 34.02%. Key words: Meningitis; neonates; late onset sepsis