Meningitis in Children course for GPs

This session describes the prevalence and impact of meningitis. You will learn to recognise the symptoms and how to conduct immediate management of a child with suspected meningococcal disease including administering intra-muscular penicillin.

This session was reviewed by Khyati Bakhai and last updated in September 2020.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this session you will be able to:

• Recognise the symptoms and signs of meningitis in children
• Describe the role of the primary care practitioner in the immediate management of a child with suspected meningitis
• Identify common problems in the diagnosis of meningitis in children
• List the long-term implications of meningitis in children

Between the ages of one month and 15 years the bacteria that most commonly cause meningitis are Neisseria meningitis strain B and Streptococcus pneumoniae.