Meningitis is an inflammatory process in the membrane of the brain, provoked by infection in the body. Due to the fact that this disease can occur in patients of absolutely all age categories, meningitis can also affect newly born babies.
It is extremely important for the child’s parents to understand the prerequisites of the disease, to be able to determine its symptoms in order to know how to behave properly when the disease manifests. It is worthwhile to learn more about the causes and consequences of meningitis in newborns. Reviews about the course of the disease are completely different. But, if it is treated in a timely manner, then the risk of developing complications and consequences can be reduced.
The danger of meningitis
Meningitis in infants from the moment of birth to one year is very dangerous because in 30% of cases the disease is fatal. Complications of pathology can also lead to disability: impaired hearing, vision, and mental retardation. After prolonged therapy, the child also has a serious threat of an abscess in the brain. A complication can develop at any time, so for 2 years the baby should be under the constant supervision of doctors.
The threat of this disease is also that children do not always have pronounced signs of pathology, for example, high fever. The reason for this is the lack of formed thermoregulation in infants. Therefore, for any symptoms similar to meningitis, you should immediately call an ambulance, and not get carried away by self-medication.
Risk factors
In infants, the named disease is formed as an independent disease. The cause of meningitis in newborns is the penetration of infection into the body. The most common pathogens in this case are staphylococcus, streptococcus and intestinal infections. A high risk of the disease exists in children with central nervous system damage that occurred before or at the time of delivery. And if the baby has a weakened immune system or there is an intrauterine pathology, then the risk of meningitis also increases significantly. At risk and babies born prematurely.
Statistics show that meningitis occurs more often in boys than in girls.
Symptoms
Symptoms of meningitis in newborns are most often not specific. In children, slowness is noticeable, sometimes alternating with anxiety, appetite decreases, they are unlocked from the chest and spit up. The following symptoms of meningitis in infants are:
- pale skin;
- acrocyanosis (blue-violet tone of the tip of the nose, earlobes);
- bloating;
- signs of increased intracranial pressure (tense or convex fontanel, increased head volume, vomiting).
In addition to the above, doctors also note such signs of meningitis in newborns as shuddering, floating eyeballs, hyperesthesia, and seizures.
Signs of late stages
Stiff neck muscles (pain when trying to tilt the head to the chest) usually occurs in the late stages of the disease. At the same time, neurologists detect the following symptoms in infants with meningitis:
- Reflex Babinsky. With dashed irritation of the sole along the outer side of the foot from the heel up to the beginning of the big toe, involuntary external flexion of the big toe and plantar flexion of the remaining toes occurs (this reflex is physiological until the onset of two years).
- Symptom Kernig. If the child lies on his back, then the doctor cannot bend the leg bent at the knee and hip joints at right angles (up to 4-6 months of life, this reflex is classified as physiological).
- Reflex Lasega. If the baby straightens the leg in the hip joint, then it is impossible to bend more than 70 degrees.
In infants, for the diagnosis of meningitis, doctors repel the general clinical picture in combination with the manifestations of Flatau syndrome - an increase in the pupils with a sharp tilt of the head forward, and Lessage - pushing the legs of the baby to the tummy in limbo.
Types of disease
In newborns, the following types of meningitis are most often formed:
- Viral - appears against the background of influenza, measles, chickenpox and paratitis, for this reason it is difficult to recognize.
- Fungal - occurs in babies born prematurely, and in children with weakened immunity. The baby risks becoming infected directly in the maternity hospital if hygiene rules are violated.
- Bacterial is the most commonly diagnosed species. It is caused by various purulent inflammations, if an infection has invaded. With blood, it reaches the layers of the brain and forms purulent foci.
Purulent meningitis in newborns occurs when infected with such types of microorganisms as hemophilus influenzae, meningococcus and pneumococcus. In 70% of cases, infection with meningococcal infection occurs. It occurs by airborne droplets through the nose or mouth. As a rule, such a disease develops rapidly, and after 8-12 hours the baby may die.
All varieties of the disease require different methods of treatment, which the doctor must determine by establishing the correct diagnosis.
Cerebrospinal fluid examination
If a disease is suspected, newborns perform lumbar puncture. The diagnosis can be proved or excluded only on the basis of the study of cerebrospinal fluid. So, with acute meningitis, cerebrospinal fluid, dull or opalescent, drains under high pressure, with a stream or with frequent drops. In it you can find a huge number of neutrophils. In addition to significant neutrophilic cytosis, purulent meningitis is characterized by an increase in protein levels and low glucose saturation.
In order to establish the type of pathogen, bacterioscopic and bacteriological studies of cerebrospinal fluid sediment are performed. The analysis of this fluid is repeated every 4-5 days until the newborn is completely corrected.
Rare form
Tuberculous meningitis in newly born children is very rare. A bacterioscopic examination of cerebrospinal fluid with this type of meningitis can give a negative result. For tuberculous meningitis, precipitation in the collected sample of cerebrospinal fluid during its standing is inherent in 12-24 hours. In 80% of cases, mycobacterium tuberculosis is detected in sediment.
A bacterioscopic study of cerebrospinal fluid in cases of suspected meningococcal or streptococcal type of meningitis is considered a simple and accurate rapid diagnostic method.
Stages
With meningococcal meningitis, the disease goes through a series of stages:
- first, cerebrospinal fluid pressure increases;
- then a small number of neutrophils are detected in the cerebrospinal fluid;
- later, changes characteristic of purulent meningitis are noted.
Therefore, in approximately every third case, cerebrospinal fluid, studied in the first hours of the disease, looks normal. In case of improper therapy, the liquid becomes purulent, the concentration of neutrophils in it increases, and the protein level rises up to 1-16 g / l. Its saturation in cerebrospinal fluid reflects the severity of the disease. With appropriate therapy, the volume of neutrophils decreases, they are replaced by lymphocytes.
Treatment
Pediatricians, neurologists and other doctors make up personalized treatment regimens for meningitis in infants. The focus of treatment depends on the type of meningitis (viral or purulent), the type of pathogen and the severity of the symptoms. Doctors individually select doses of drugs depending on the weight and age of the newborn.
Viral
With viral meningitis, dehydration therapy with diuretic drugs is performed to reduce intracranial pressure. Anticonvulsants and antiallergic drugs are prescribed, which reduce the body's susceptibility to toxins and allergens. In addition, antipyretic and analgesics, as well as antiviral drugs and immunoglobulin are necessary for the child. In most cases, babies recover after 1-2 weeks.
Bacterial
With bacterial meningitis in newborns, antibiotic therapy is used, to which various types of microorganisms are susceptible. Since the study of cerebrospinal fluid taken during puncture takes 3-4 days, empirical therapy with bactericidal substances begins immediately after the analysis of blood and cerebrospinal fluid. The results of an express study can be obtained within 2 hours. When determining the causative agent of infection, medications are prescribed, to which the detected microorganisms are more susceptible. If the condition of the baby does not improve at all 48 hours after the start of antimicrobial therapy, secondary puncture is performed to clarify the diagnosis.
Meningitis in newborns due to a hemophilic bacillus can be prevented by vaccination. The ACT-HIB vaccine used in the Russian Federation is administered to children from 2-3 months. And from the age of one and a half years, babies are vaccinated against meningococcal infection with our vaccine, meningococcal A and A + C. The imported Meningo A + C vaccine, issued in the Russian Federation, is injected into newborns if someone in the family gets a similar infection.
Meningitis in newly born children is the most dangerous. Its results for infants may turn out to be unpredictable, therefore, at the first doubts about the well-being of the child, you need to consult a doctor. Only the help of a professional will help protect the life and health of the newborn.
Prevention
Preventive measures will make it possible to avoid the development of meningitis in babies:
- If the baby was born weak, he should be vaccinated against this disease. Although the vaccine does not provide absolute safety against germs and infections, it significantly increases it.
- So that the child does not become infected with viral meningitis, hygiene rules should be followed, do not use your own items to care for the child.
- If a relative suffering from a viral disease is in the same area of residence with the baby, he should be limited from communicating with the baby.
- The room must be regularly ventilated.
- You can not supercool the child, as well as overheating. It must be worn according to the weather.
- After consulting a doctor, it is allowed to give the baby vitamin complex complexes and minerals.
- When breastfeeding, the mother is obliged to eat correctly and comprehensively. Through her body, the child receives a variety of nutrients that can help cope with diseases.
- If there are deviations in the behavior of the baby and his well-being, you should immediately contact a doctor.
To date, there is no reliable means to protect newly born children from meningitis. Experts say that only children with strong immunity can protect themselves from the disease. For this reason, mothers should take care of their own diet and organize the right lifestyle during pregnancy.
To summarize
Meningitis in a newborn baby is especially dangerous, its outcome for babies in most cases is negative. As already mentioned in children who have had the disease, there remains a danger of a brain abscess, for this reason the baby is required to undergo constant examinations with a pediatrician for another 2 years. The consequences of meningitis in newborns, even after prolonged treatment, can be serious visual and hearing impairments. The child may lag behind in development, suffer from blood coagulation disorders, hydrocephalus, central nervous system disorder.
The prognosis for the described pathology depends on the cause and severity of the disease, as well as on the adequacy of the treatment.