prognosis
Last reviewed 01/2018
The prognosis in neonatal meningitis depends upon factors such as:
- florid bacterial presence in the CSF
- delayed sterilization of the CSF
- CSF leukocytes at a concentration greater than 10,000 per millilitre
- the presence of focal neurological loss at diagnosis
- seizures for longer than four days
If these are present, there is an increased risk of neurological abnormality, usually a loss of hearing.
Mortality is between 20 to 50% for meningitis with onset before one week, and 10 to 20% with onset after this.
50% of survivors have some degree of morbidity, which is severe in 30%.