Introduction: Tuberculous meningitis (TBM) is a serious public health problem in developing countries and is associated with high mortality and morbidity. A delay in diagnosis and treatment can lead to fatal complications.

Aim: To study the incidence, clinicoepidemiological profile and complications of tuberculous meningitis amongst all hospitalized patients of age group of one month to five years of age.

Settings and Design: Prospective, observational study including children one month to five years of age with TBM admitted in a tertiary care hospital from northern India.

Material and Methods: A prospective observational study was conducted in the Department of Pediatrics Indira Gandhi Medical College Shimla over a period of one year (November 2012 to October 2013) amongst children of age group one month to five years with suspected TBM. The diagnosis of TBM was based on predefined criteria.

Results: Out of 160 children suspected of meningitis, 11 were diagnosed TBM. Most (72%) cases were in the age group 13 months to 60 months followed by 27% cases in the age group of 3 months to 12 months while below 2 months no case was seen. 54.5% were females and 45.5% were males with female to male ratio of 1:0.83. Death occurred in 27.5% cases.

Conclusion: Newer investigations, early diagnosis and treatment are need of hour to prevent mortality and morbidity related to TBM.

Keywords: Meningitis, Tuberculous, Seizures, Hemiparesis.

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Dr Ashok Garg

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