The Long-Term Effects of Childhood Bacterial Meningitis

The short-term sequelae of childhood bacterial meningitis can include hearing loss, motor deficits, seizures, and cognitive impairment. But what about functioning in adult life? In a recent cohort study, investigators used national patient registries in Denmark to compare the educational achievement and economic self-sufficiency of individuals with meningococcal, pneumococcal, or Haemophilus influenzae meningitis diagnosed between 1977 and 2007, before age 12 years, with those of age- and sex-matched controls who had not had meningitis. To assess for family-related cofactors, the researchers also evaluated the siblings and parents of these two cohorts.

Survivors of pneumococcal or H. influenzae meningitis were less likely than matched contro…