Abstract

DIAZ ALVAREZ, Manuel et al. Clinical and epidemiological features of aseptic meningitis in newborns. Rev Cubana Pediatr [online]. 2012, vol.84, n.1, pp.33-46. ISSN 0034-7531.

Objective: to show the clinical and epidemiological features of the aseptic meningitis, potentially by enterovirus in newborns seen in our service of Neonatology. Methods: a retrospective study was conducted in 291 neonatal patients admitted in the Neonatology service of the "Juan Manuel Márquez" Children Hospital from 1992 to 2009, diagnosed with aseptic meningitis. Information was collected from a database created for a research on neonatal meningitis. Different clinical and epidemiological variables of presentation of this disease were analyzed. Results: there were peaks of increase in the incidence of the aseptic meningitis with a statistically significant trend to decrease within the 18 years old (p= 0.00027). The frequency of presentation showed a grouping of cases towards June to November. The fever was present in all patients, followed by irritability and presence of different manifestations of respiratory tract. The appearance of the sick child and the convulsions were no more frequent manifestations. Excepting for the pleocytosis, the conventional indicators in the cerebrospinal fluid/blood had a mean within the normal limits for the neonatal period, however, the ranks were wide. There were patients presenting with a significant pleocytosis, other with predominance of polimorphonuclear ones in a ratio higher than 50 % and also a low relation of glucose-cerebrospinal fluid/blood. The natural history of all patients was favorable without neurological immediate obvious sequelae. Conclusions: the episodes of aseptic meningitis occurred have a pattern characteristic of the enterovirus infections with seasonal grouping of cases and periodical epidemic peaks. The clinical expression of the infection and the results in examinations of hematic biometry and the cytochemistry examination of the cerebrospinal fluid, although characteristic of a infection like this, have a wide variability, since could to be patients with findings resembling that observed in patients presenting with bacterial meningitis, creating a clinical uncertainty for physician assessing the patient.

Keywords : aseptic meningitis; viral meningitis; newborns; infections; incidence; cerebrospinal fluid.

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