OBJECTIVE To investigate the clinical characteristics, risk factors and prognosis of bacterial meningitis caused by Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Streptococcus pneumoniae.

METHODS Patients with bacterial meningitis infected by E. coli, K. pneumoniae and S. pneumoniae admitted to Linyi People′s Hospital and Linyi Central Hospital in Shandong Province from Jan. 2017 to Dec. 2024 were selected as the study subjects. Their clinical medical records were collected, and the risk factors for prognosis were retrospectively analyzed.

RESULTS A total of 87 patients with bacterial meningitis were included, with a median age of 52.00 (34.00, 61.00) years, males as predominantly (64.37%) and a median hospital stay of 18.00 (8.50, 29.00) days. Patients with Enterobacteriaceae (E. coli, K. pneumoniae) meningitis were older, had longer hospital stays and higher proportions of hospital-associated infection, fever, cerebral hemorrhage, hydrocephalus, underlying brain tumors and receipt of surgery and central venous catheterization than patients with S. pneumoniae meningitis (P < 0.05). Among the 87 patients, 32 (36.78%) had a poor prognosis. Binary logistic regression analysis showed that coma (OR=16.653, 95%CI: 3.697-75.013; P < 0.001) and the use of ventilator (OR=9.006, 95%CI: 1.603-50.594; P=0.013) were risk factors for poor prognosis in patients with bacterial meningitis.

CONCLUSIONS There are differences in the infection characteristics of bacterial meningitis caused by Enterobacteriaceae and S. pneumoniae. The use of a ventilator and coma status are related to the prognosis of patients.