Bacterial meningitis risk factors
Bacterial meningitis Microchapters |
Diagnosis |
Treatment |
Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Aysha Anwar, M.B.B.S[2]
Overview
Risk factors
Common risk factors of bacterial meningitis may include:
Age
- Extremes of age predispose to bacterial meningitis such as infants and old age
- Type of bacteria affecting affecting different age groups varies
Community setting
- People living in dorms
- Military personnel
- Large gatherings in college campuses
Certain medical conditions
- Recent respiratory or ear infection
- Otorrhea or rhinorrhea
- Lupus
- Infective endocarditis
Working with meningitis-causing pathogens
- Microbiologists
- Lab personnel
Travel
- Recent travel to endemic area such as sub-Saharan Africa
- Travel to Mecca during the annual Hajj and Umrah pilgrimage
Immunosuppression
- Prolonged steroid therapy
- Complement deficiency
- Diabetes mellitus
- Hypogammaglobulinemia, and
- Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection
Trauma
- Recent head trauma
Other risk factors
- Smoking
- Alcohalism
- Injection drug abuse
- Sepsis