Data from the records of 528 children under 15 years old with diagnosis of acute bacterial meningitis, admitted at the Hospital Couto Maia between 1990 and 1992 were analyzed. Bacterial meningitis was more frequent in children under the age of 1 year (37.8%). The most common etiologic agent was H. influenzae (42.2%). The global letality was 20.9%. Individual predictors of poor outcome were: absence of the "classic triad", CSF cell count under 1000 /mm³, age under 2 years, presence of seizures, depressed sensorium, and S. pneumoniae as causal agent.
bacterial meningitis; children; clinical and laboratory findings; prognosis