Estudio de la onda P300 en niños con meningitis bacteriana.

Introduction: In bacterial meningitis long term neurological sequelae have been reported. Some of these are subtle, for example, neuropsychological deficits are difficult to detect on formal assessment but they may adversely affect the children educational performance. The quantitative neurophysiologic techniques could be very useful with that purpose. P300 wave is a late positive component related with the detection of relevant sensorial information. The P300 wave is a widely used test assessing cognitive function but its clinical use remains controversial. Objective: In this study, we use this technique in order to identify 5 to 7 years long term neurocognitive sequelae in children previously affected by bacterial meningitis. Methods: 44 children were examined (ages ranged from) after acute stage of bacterial meningitis in their first 2 years of life. Tests battery included: neurological physical examination, detailed neuropsychological evaluation and a study of 'oddball' P300 wave (visual discrimination tasks). Results: The electrophysiological findings with the P300 wave were expressed in terms of significant latencies and amplitude asymmetries. A total of 11 children (25%) with abnormal physiologic results were identified. A statistically significant correspondence (p ≤ 0.05) between the results of P300 wave and the other assessments was found. Conclusions: 1) Children with bacterial meningitis can present long term neurocognitive impairment with a negative impact in the learning process. 2) The electrophysiological findings in the study of P300 wave can be used as a criteria to predict cognitive dysfunction in young children affected previously by bacterial meningitis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]