Neonatal Meningitis Presenting As Abdominal Distension: A Case Report

Abstract Neonatal meningitis is the common cause of morbidity, mortality and long term sequel in newborns. The incidence ranges from 0.25-0.32 per 1000 live births. The diagnosis remains challenging as the clinical feature are varied and nonspecific in most of the cases. They present as lethargy, decreased feeding ability and nonspecific lab abnormalities. The clinical indicator which points towards meningeal involvement is presence of seizures. Any newborn with seizures should undergo lumbar puncture to rule out presence of meningitis. Lumbar puncture remains gold standard in resource poor settings for identifying the presence of meningitis in suspected cases. The blood and CSF culture and sensitivity should be done to identify the causative organism and to institute specific antimicrobial therapy. Early identification of neonatal meningitis and its treatment forms the mainstay in preventing the morbidity and mortality of the disease in neonates.