Introduction: Meningitis remains a common and serious problem in children\nworldwide. One million instances of meningitis are assessed to happen\nin children worldwide each year. In Africa, where outbreaks are common\n70% of meningitis cases are diagnosed in children under the age of five (5)\nyears. Though in most cases, doctors diagnose early and adequate treatment\nstarted, 5% to 10% of patients still succumb during the 24 - 48 hours after\nonset of clinical features. In 2009, the mortality rate in Africa was four thousand\ndeaths. Study Objective: This study describes the predictors of bacterial\nmeningitis among children aged 0 - 5 years admitted at Kenyatta National\nHospital (K.N.H.) paediatric wards. Methodology: The study adopted a descriptive\ncross-sectional design. It was carried out in K.N.H. paediatric wards.\nData were obtained from consenting parent or guardian and healthcare workers\n(nurses and registrars). Study participants were selected by convenient sampling\nmethod. A total of 104 study participants were included in the study\nsample. In-depth interviews of key informants were conducted on 7 health\nworkers; 5 nurses from the paediatric wards and paediatric emergency unit\nand 2 paediatric registrars. Ethical consideration included full disclosure to\nparticipants, confidentiality, security of health records and informed consent.\nData were collected by use of researcher administered semi-structured questionnaire\nand desk reviews of patientsâ?? files were also used. Qualitative data\nfrom the interviews were audio-taped. Logistic regression analysis was used\nfor data analysis. Quantitative data were cleaned, entered and analysed using\nStatistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23. Results were displayed\nby utilization of tables, pie charts. Qualitative data were transcribed,\ngrouped in themes and analysed manually. Study Results: The majority of\nthe children (55.8%) were female. The highest percentage of the children\n(53.8%) was aged less than one year. The highest proportion of the parents (39.4%) was within the age group of 26 - 30 years. Neonatal sepsis (37.5%),\nneonatal jaundice (25.0%) and for observation (25.0%) were the common\nreasons for admission to NBU. Children admitted and managed in the nursery\nunit were significantly 2.7 times more likely to have bacterial meningitis\ncompared to those children never admitted to the nursery [OR = 2.75; 95%\nCI = 1.08 - 7.00; P = 0.031]. Streptococcus pneumonia was the main (51.2%)\ncausative agent of bacterial meningitis among the children. Children who\nwere taken to hospital in delay after illness were 1.740 times more likely to\nexhibit meningitis than those taken to hospital immediately. Children whose\nparents had higher levels of income were two times less likely to exhibit\nmeningitis than those with lower. Majority (62.5%) resided in mid urban and\nslum areas. Most lived in a one (1) bed-roomed house and most houses\n(60.6%) had more than five people living in it. The main co-existing illnesses\namong the children were pneumonia (53.8%) and heart disease (22.9%).\nConclusions: Streptococcus pneumoniae was the common causative agent of\nmeningitis among the study population. The enviromnetal factors such as\nliving in overcrowded areas, inadequate exposure to health education\ncontributed to contracting and developing meningitis. Financial contraints\namong caregivers posed a hindrance to the participants in seeking medical\nattention early. A previous upper respiratory tract infection more often led to\ncontracting meningitis.
Loading....