To Study Incidence and clinical outcomes of neonatal meningitis in a Level III NICU – a ambispective observational study

Neonatal meningitis continues to be a serious health challenge with high mortality and morbidity worldwide . Neonatal meningitis is a diffuse inflammation of the meninges during the first 28 days of life . Despite advances in the management of neonatal meningitis, mortality and neurologic complications are still unacceptably high, especially in developing countries .The risk factors associated with neonatal meningitis in neonatal sepsis might vary from one study area to another .Previous studies found that neonatal meningitis was high in neonates with prematurity , maternal history of chorioamnionitis, Prolonged Rupture of Membrane (PROM) , perinatal asphyxia a , positive blood culture [5], and group B streptococcus bacteremia .In neonates, signs and symptoms of serious infections are often obscure, and the clinical presentation of neonatal meningitis is indistinguishable from that of neonatal sepsis without meningitis . The most important clinical indicators of neonatal meningitis are convulsions, irritability, bulging fontanel, and temperature ≥ 39°C . Therefore, the only confirmatory diagnosis for neonatal meningitis is cerebrospinal fluid analysis. Hence, the current study aimed to determine the magnitude and clinical presentations  of neonatal meningitis among newborns with neonatal sepsis.