A systematic literature review on the prevalence and etiology of meningitis among critically ill and hospitalized patients in India

BACKGROUND: In India, owing to multiple factors, such as insufficient laboratory capacity, poor reporting systems due to limited access to healthcare facilities and limited disease surveillance programmes, the actual disease burden of meningitis is unknown and may be largely under-reported. OBJECTIVE: A systematic literature review was performed to describe: (a) the prevalence of meningitis; and (b) its etiological pathogen across different regions, age groups and patients with comorbidities. METHOD: A systematic literature search was conducted between 1990 and 2020 using PubMed and Google Scholar databases to identify Indian studies reporting the prevalence rates and etiology of meningitis. A total of 51 studies were included in the final analysis. RESULTS: A total of 38 studies reported prevalence of meningitis and 21 studies reported data on the etiology of meningitis in India. These studies included mixed patient populations: (a) pyogenic meningitis; (b) meningitis in sick or hospitalized patients with tuberculosis, acute febrile encephalopathy syndrome, septicaemia, invasive pneumococcal disease or respiratory compromise; and (c) meningitis patients with comorbidities. The prevalence of confirmed bacterial meningitis in the pediatric population (0–14 years) ranged between 0.5% and 61.8%. A total of seven studies reported the prevalence of meningitis in patients of all age groups (0–75 years), with prevalence ranging between 8.68% and 78.85%. Cryptococcal meningitis was predominant in patients with positive HIV/AIDS, with a prevalence ranging between 2.09% and 53.1%. Streptococcus pneumoniae was found to be the predominant pathogen causing meningitis across different regions of India, with a frequency ranging from 4% to 61.8% in patients of all age groups. CONCLUSION: This systematic literature review displayed the possible range of frequency of bacterial meningitis pathogens across a wide variety of age groups in different regions of India. Further studies are warranted to monitor meningitis cases, which may facilitate the development of prevention and treatment strategies in India.