Acute Bacterial Meningitis in Qatar: A Hospital-Based Study from 2009 to 2013

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Bacterial meningitis is a common medical condition in Qatar. The aim of this study was to describe the clinical characteristics of bacterial meningitis, the frequency of each pathogen, and its sensitivity to antibiotics and risk factors for death. PATIENTS AND METHODS This retrospective study was conducted at Hamad General Hospital between January 1, 2009, and December 31, 2013. RESULTS We identified 117 episodes of acute bacterial meningitis in 110 patients. Their mean age was 26.4 ± 22.3 years (range: 2-74) and 81 (69.2%) of them were male patients. Fifty-nine episodes (50.4%) were community-acquired infection and fever was the most frequent symptom (94%), whereas neurosurgery is the most common underlying condition. Coagulase-negative staphylococci were the most common causative agent, of which 95% were oxacillin-resistant, while 63.3% of Acinetobacter spp. showed resistance to meropenem. The in-hospital mortality was 14 (12%). Only the presence of underlying diseases, hypotension, and inappropriate treatment were found to be independent predictors of mortality. CONCLUSION Acute bacterial meningitis predominantly affected adults and coagulase-negative staphylococci species were the common causative agent in Qatar with majority of infections occurring nosocomially. More than 90% of all implicated coagulase-negative staphylococci strains were oxacillin-resistant.