bacterial_meningitis_score: Bacterial Meningitis Score for Children

In cliot: Clinical Indices and Outcomes Tools

Bacterial Meningitis Score for Children

Description

Calculates the Bacterial Meningitis Score to stratify the risk of bacterial meningitis in children (aged 29 days to 19 years) presenting with CSF pleocytosis (>= 10 WBCs/uL). A score of 0 identifies patients at very low risk who may be candidates for outpatient management.

Usage

bacterial_meningitis_score(gram_stain_positive, csf_protein_mg_dl,
                           peripheral_anc, seizure_history, csf_neutrophils)

Arguments

gram_stain_positive	Numeric (0 or 1). Is the CSF Gram stain positive for bacteria? (1 = Yes, +2 points).
csf_protein_mg_dl	Numeric. CSF protein level in mg/dL. (>= 80 mg/dL adds +1 point).
peripheral_anc	Numeric. Peripheral blood Absolute Neutrophil Count (cells/mm3). (>= 10,000 cells/mm3 adds +1 point).
seizure_history	Numeric (0 or 1). Seizure at or prior to presentation? (1 = Yes, +1 point).
csf_neutrophils	Numeric. CSF Absolute Neutrophil Count (cells/mm3). (>= 1,000 cells/mm3 adds +1 point).

Value

A list containing:

BMS_Score	The calculated Bacterial Meningitis Score (Range 0-6).
Risk_Category	"Very Low Risk" (Score 0) or "Not Low Risk" (Score >= 1).
Interpretation	Clinical guidance based on the score.

References

Nigrovic LE, Kuppermann N, Malley R. Development and validation of a multivariable predictive model to distinguish bacterial from aseptic meningitis in children in the post-Haemophilus influenzae era. Pediatrics. 2002;110(4):712-719. doi:10.1542/peds.110.4.712

Examples

# Example 1: High Risk
# Positive Gram stain (+2), Protein 90 (+1), ANC 12000 (+1)
# Score = 4
bacterial_meningitis_score(1, 90, 12000, 0, 500)

# Example 2: Very Low Risk
# Negative Gram stain, Protein 40, ANC 5000, No seizure, CSF Neuts 100
# Score = 0
bacterial_meningitis_score(0, 40, 5000, 0, 100)

cliot documentation built on Dec. 1, 2025, 1:06 a.m.