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In newborns, meningitis (inflammation of the membranes covering the spinal cord and brain) resulting from a bacterial infection needs to be diagnosed early to increase the chances of a favorable outcome. Such diagnosis usually requires examination of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), which is obtained by a spinal lumbar puncture. This procedure is both traumatic and risky and should not be used unnecessarily. Certain maternal risk factors have been determined which may help to identify newborns at a higher risk for infections that can cause bacterial meningitis. Some have advocated CSF tests for asymptomatic infants whose mothers have such risk factors. This study assessed if such tests, with their accompanying risks, should be performed on asymptomatic infants. Records covering a 10-year period when infants born at or transferred to a particular hospital may have had CSF tests at the hospital were reviewed. A total of 284 infants who were asymptomatic, but whose mothers had risk factors indicating that the infants might have a bacterial infection, had CSF examinations during this period. In no case did an infant have meningitis and in only 5 cases (1.8 percent) was an infant's culture positive. These results demonstrate that CSF examinations need not be performed on asymptomatic infants. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)