Emergency department stabilization of pediatric patients with bacterial meningitis. Current advances.

The infant or child who presents to the Emergency Department with bacterial meningitis may have nonspecific vague symptoms with few signs of serious illness. However, the disease is often rapidly progressive and life-threatening, and may be associated with respiratory failure, circulatory failure, increased intracranial pressure, disseminated intravascular coagulation, or convulsions, any of which may lead to a fatal outcome. It is important for the triage technician in an Emergency Department to cautiously inspect each young patient who presents with illness, carefully considering whether the presenting syndrome of symptoms and signs might be consistent with early meningitis.