Gender Differences in Community-acquired Meningitis in Adults: Clinical Presentations and Prognostic Factors

Community-acquired meningitis can be caused by several treatable and untreatable infectious etiologies (e.g., bacterial, viral, and fungal infections), but most commonly the etiology is unknown. Studies show that risk factors for bacterial meningitis include age, immunosuppression, genetic susceptibility, and anatomical defects. Mortality and morbidity for bacterial meningitis is high, with risk factors for a poor outcome including systemic compromise and a low level of consciousness . Outcome largely depends on rapid initiation of an effective empiric treatment, adjusting for age, systemic symptoms, and antimicrobial resistance.

While there is some understanding of the effect of age and other risk factors on susceptibility to community-acquired meningitis, there are no studies exploring gender differences in community-acquired meningitis. The purpose of this study is to investigate gender differences in clinical presentation, laboratory and imaging results, etiologies and prognostic factors in male and female patients with community-acquired meningitis. Read more...................