What exactly is the most common cause of meningitis in children 6months to 6 years old?
According to Goljan's Rapid Review : N.Meningitidis is most common cause of meningitis from 1 month to 18 years of age.
USMLE Rx : Strep Pneumo is most common cause for 6 months to 6 years old.
So if a 3 year old boy has meningitis, what is the most likely cause?
I faced exactly the same problem and I did not find a consistent answer
I think it's step pneumoniae is more common
N. meningitidis is more common in closed communities such as college dorms and prisons.
If you find the answer please let me know
Our microbiology teacher told us that there's no clear epidemiology nowadays regarding this because we started to see the effects of universal pneumococcal vaccination and therefore step pneumoniae is no longer on top of the list and n. meningitidis is becoming more and more but then again because of universal vaccination of college students even n.meningitis is becoming less and therefore perhaps right now the most common cause is viruses in young adults
It's established that there's a debate about this. Ofcourse I had the same problem. Last thing I read is in UW, they said that N.meningitis is the 2nd most common cause of bacterial meningitis before the age of 60 after strept. pneumonia, and they put in their reference, this is the only question they put their reference in . While FA says N.meningitis the most common cause...
For the purpose of USMLE Step1 , I totally agree with Harith.
I read also Goljan who clearely stated that for patients > 18 "...(some authors put N meningitidis in the first place and Strept. pneumonie on the 2-nd place.)..."
hi every body
i got a question on UW and it says that S.pneumoniae is the most common cause of meningitis in adults but in the FA 2010 its say that it is N.meningitidis between age 6 - 60 years..
so anyone can explain,,,is there anything wrong
i remember Dr. goljan saying b/w 1 month to 18 months, its N.meningitidis
>18years, its St. pnemoniae. and to complete the list, in infants Group B hemolytic streptococcus.
Streptococcus pneumoniae is the most common cause of meningitis in patients older than 20 years, accounting for almost 50% of the cases. N.Meningitidis is the second cause, with 25% of cases. This is due to the widespread vaccination against both H.Influenze(which had a great decline, before it was one of the most common causes) and N.Meningitidis (which had a smaller decline). N.Meningitidis accounts for up to 60% of cases in children and young adults between the ages of 2 to 20 years.This information was taken from Harrisons Internal Medicine, 17th edition. I guess First Aid has to fix that issue, the other issue I saw wasn't actualized was the most common cause of adult nephrotic syndrome, which I got to know by doing the kaplan qbank, so it is important to do the online version to get the newest information.
Since the exam is most likely to ask you a cause depending on case scenario, just look for the difference that will guide you, gram positive versus gram negative, and the characteristic petechial or pupuric skin lesions that is only seen with N. Meningitidis.
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