[Analysis of common pathogens and epidemiological characteristics of acute bacterial meningitis cases in Shandong Province]

Objective: To analyze epidemiological characteristics of acute bacterial meningitis (ABM) cases and the common pathogens infected in Jinan, Shandong Province. Methods: Epidemiological and clinical informations and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and blood specimens of acute meningitis/encephalitis syndrome (AMES) cases (total 3 918 cases) were collected in the six sentinel hospitals from 2013 to 2016. neisseria meningitidis (Nm) , streptococcus pneumoniae (Sp) and haemophilus influenza (Hi) were detected by the methods of real-time fluorescent quantitative polymerase chain reaction (Real-time PCR), bacterial culture and latex agglutination. χ(2) test was used to compare ABM cases with different feasures, and compare the difference of Nm, Sp and Hi cases in clinical and epidemiological characteristics. Results: A total of 479 cases were diagnosed as ABM from 2013 to 2016, 82 cases of which were laboratory confirmed, including 54 cases infected with Nm , 25 cases infected with Sp , and 3 cases infected with Hi . The disease course in different age groups of ABM cases has statistically difference (χ(2)=40.95, P< 0.001). The disease course of under 6 (63.6%, 161/253) and 7 to 17 (55.9%, 33/59) years old ABM cases mainly required 14-28 days, and over 18 years old cases mainly required less than 14 days (59.9%, 100/167). For Nm cases, there was a main onset period from October to March (75.9%, 41/54); on the disease course, under 6 (81.0%, 17/21) and 7 to 17 (16/18) years old cases mainly required less than 14 days, while over 18 years old cases mainly required 14-28 days (8/15), and there was a statistically difference in different age groups (χ(2)=8.44, P= 0.015). For Sp cases, the major onset period was from December to May (84.0%, 21/25); on the disease course, all of under 6 and 7 to 17 years old cases were required 14-28 days, while over 18 years old cases mainly required less than 14 days (9/17), and there was a statistically difference in different age groups (χ(2)=6.62, P= 0.037). 91.0% of the ABM cases (436/479) were healed or improvement, with the relatively higher ratio in under 6 (94.9%, 240/253) and 7 to 17 (98.3%, 58/59) years old groups, and poorer ratio in over 18 years old group (82.6%, 138/167), and the difference was significant in different age groups (χ(2)=22.77, P< 0.001). For Nm, Sp and Hi cases, the ratio of cases that were healed or improvement were 87.0% (47/54), 92.0% (23/25) and 3/3, respectively, and there were no death cases. Conclusion: ABM cases were found mostly in under 18 years old group in Jinan, Shandong Province, and the bigger age group had poor prognosis. Nm was the major pathogen causing ABM, followed by Sp and Hi . Distinguished differences of epidemiological characteristics were found on ABM cases suffered with different pathogens infected.