A study has shown that meningitis and septicaemia have a significant impact on children’s ability to learn as well as their behaviour at school.
A study at Imperial College London has shown that meningitis and septicaemia have a significant impact on children's school performance. Their ability to learn and their behaviour are especially affected and are worse than for children treated in intensive care with other critical illnesses. The new research, funded by the Meningitis Research Foundation , conducted at St Mary's and Great Ormond Street hospitals and just published in the journal Critical Care Medicine , looked at children aged 5 to 16 years old who had been in paediatric intensive care. Children had a series of tests five months after leaving hospital, measuring intellectual function, memory, and attention. The children's teachers also reported on their performance at school. Children who hadn't been in intensive care were tested as a comparison. Lorraine Als of Imperial College London said: "Overall, the children who had been in intensive care scored significantly lower on most tests than those who hadn't, but those with meningitis, encephalitis and/or septicaemia had the worst scores.
TO READ THIS ARTICLE, CREATE YOUR ACCOUNT
And extend your reading, free of charge and with no commitment.
