Epidemiological Characteristics and Disease Burden of Tuberculous Meningitis in Hospitalized Children in China: A Nationwide Retrospective Study.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

To investigate the epidemiological profile and cost burden of pediatric inpatients with tuberculous meningitis (TBM) in China.

Methods

We conducted a descriptive multicenter study involving pediatric TBM inpatients from 9 provincial hospitals and 20 municipal hospitals across 24 provinces in China from January 2016 to December 2021. Sociodemographic and geographic variables, admission and discharge information were extracted from face sheets of discharge medical records to describe the epidemiological characteristics. Length of hospital stay (LOS) and hospitalization expenses were used to assess disease burden.

Results

TBM accounted for 0.01% (971/7,647,598) of total hospitalization cases and 15.82% (971/6,138) of TB cases. The proportion of TBM children ag

SUBMITTER: Peng X 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11832963 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature