Hearing impairment after childhood bacterial meningitis dependent on etiology in Luanda, Angola. Issue 11 (November 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Karppinen, Mariia; Pelkonen, Tuula; Roine, Irmeli; Cruzeiro, Manuel Leite; Peltola, Heikki; Pitkäranta, Anne
• Is Part Of: International journal of pediatric otorhinolaryngology. Volume 79:Issue 11(2015:Nov.)
• Page Start: 1820
• Page End: 1826
• Publication Date: 2015-11
• Subjects: Otolaryngology -- Periodicals; Pediatrics -- Periodicals; Otolaryngology -- Periodicals; Pediatrics -- Periodicals; Oto-rhino-laryngologie -- Périodiques; Pédiatrie -- Périodiques; 618.9209751
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijporl.2015.08.015
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0165-5876

Abstract

<abstract abstract-type="author" id="abs0005"> <title id="sect0005">Abstract</title> <sec> <title id="sect0010">Objective</title> <p id="spar0005">Childhood bacterial meningitis (BM) damages hearing, but the potential of different agents to cause impairment in developing countries is poorly understood. We compared the extent of hearing impairment in BM caused by <italic>Haemophilus influenzae</italic> type b (Hib), <italic>Streptococcus pneumoniae</italic> or <italic>Neisseria meningitidis</italic> among children aged 2 months to 13 years in Luanda, Angola.</p> </sec> <sec> <title id="sect0015">Methods</title> <p id="spar0010">Hearing of 685 ears of 351 (78%) survivors among 723 enrolled patients was tested by brainstem-evoked response audiometry on day 7 of hospitalization. The causative agent was sought by cerebrospinal fluid culture, PCR or the latex-agglutination test.</p> </sec> <sec> <title id="sect0020">Results</title> <p id="spar0015">Altogether, 45 (12%) of the survivors were deaf (threshold >80 dB), and 20 (6%) had a threshold of 80 dB. The incidence of any kind of hearing loss, with ≥60 dB, was 34% with Hib, 30% with <italic>S. pneumoniae</italic>, 19% with <italic>N. meningitidis</italic> and 33% with other bacteria. Examining all ears combined and using the ≥60 dB threshold, the agents showed dissimilar harm (<italic>P</italic> = 0.005), Hib being the most frequent and <italic>N. meningitidis</italic> the most infrequent cause. Compared to other agents, <italic>S. pneumoniae</italic> more often caused deafness (<italic>P</italic> = 0.025) and hearing impairment at ≥60 dB (<italic>P</italic> = 0.017) in infants, whereas this level of hearing loss in older survivors was most commonly caused by Hib (<italic>P</italic> = 0.031).</p> </sec> <sec> <title id="sect0025">Conclusions</title> <p id="spar0020">BM among children in Angola is often followed by hearing impairment, but the risk depends on the agent. <italic>S. pneumoniae</italic> is a major problem among infants, whereas Hib is mainly a risk beyond 12 months. <italic>N. meningitidis</italic> impairs hearing less frequently.</p> </sec> </abstract>