Neurodevelopmental outcome of infants with viral meningitis in the first three months of life

We prospectively evaluated the neurodevelopmental outcome of infants with documented viral meningitis to determine (1) whether deficits in physical growth, development, speech and language, hearing, or intelligence occur; and (2) if so, at what age these deficits can be detected. Sixteen infants with documented enteroviral meningitis under the age of 90 days and a control group of 13 patients matched for age, race, sex, and socioeconomic status were followed up prospectively for 3 years with annual evaluations, which included a developmental evaluation by a pediatric developmentalist, articulation and language tests by a speech-language pathologist (Sequenced Inventory of Communication Development, Receptive-Expressive Emergent Language Scale (REEL), Preschool Language Scale (PLS), Revised Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT-R), Photo Articulation Test, audiometric screening), and intelligence tests by a psychometrist (Bayley Scales of Infant Development [BSID] and Stanford-Binet). No deficits were demonstrated in growth, development, hearing, BSID, articulation, and expressive language. Subtle but significant (P < 0.05) deficits were documented in the study group compared with the control group in the receptive component of the REEL, all subsections of the PLS, the PPVT-R, and the verbal comprehension/language-processing section (Factor II) of the Stanford-Binet. These differences could be reliably detected by 3 years of age. We conclude that viral meningitis in young infants may cause subtle deficits in language skills, particularly receptive language. We recommend that children who have had enteroviral meningitis during early infancy be monitored carefully for language development and, perhaps, receive increased language stimulation in the home prior to school entry in order to optimize their learning potential.