Viral meningitis: clinical-epidemiological study of a pediatric epidemic outbreak

Abstract

Introduction: infections of the central nervous system constitute a global health problem, with an increase in their incidence and prevalence in pediatric ages observed in recent decades.

Objective: to describe the clinical-epidemiological aspects of children with viral meningitis during the 2023 epidemic outbreak.

Method: an observational, descriptive and retrospective study was carried out in 181 children in an outbreak of viral meningitis at the “Hermanos Cordové” Pediatric Hospital in Manzanillo, Granma province, Cuba. To collect the information, a form was used with the variables: age, sex, risk factors, signs and symptoms, cellularity in the cerebrospinal fluid and time of the lumbar puncture, taken from the medical records of said patients.

Results: the male sex predominated with 111 patients (61.3%). The most common age group in both sexes was one to five years old with 79 patients (43.6%). The predominant risk factor was overcrowding with 104 children for 57.5%. The most frequent symptoms were fever in 165 children (91.2%), followed by vomiting (152 patients with 84%) and headache (in 115 infants with 63.5%), both with a value of p>0.05. The predominant cellularity in the cerebrospinal fluid study was between 101 and 499 cells for 57.5% of the total study population.

Conclusions: viral meningitis is an infectious disease that is on the rise in pediatric ages. Its main clinical picture is characterized by high fever, projectile vomiting, headache and neck stiffness. Even in epidemic outbreaks, the study of cerebrospinal fluid is the complementary test of choice for diagnosis.