Prevalence and significance of anaemia in childhood bacterial meningitis: a secondary analysis of prospectively collected data from clinical trials in Finland, Latin America and Angola.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

To describe the prevalence and severity of anaemia and to examine its associations with outcome in children with bacterial meningitis (BM).

Design

Secondary analysis of descriptive data from five randomised BM treatment trials.

Setting

Hospitals in Finland, Latin America and Angola.

Participants

Consecutive children from 2 months to 15 years of age admitted with BM and who had haemoglobin (Hb) measured on admission.

Outcome measures

Prevalence and degree of anaemia using the WHO criteria, and their associations with recovery with sequelae or death.

Results

The median Hb was 11.8 g/dL in Finland (N=341), 9.2 g/dL in Latin America (N=597) and 7.6 g/dL in Angola (N=1085). Of the children, 79% had anaemia, which was severe in 29%, moderate

SUBMITTER: Pelkonen T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8921951 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature