PEDIATRICS Vol. 65 No. 5 May 1980, pp. 1052
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Pericardial Effusions in Bacterial Meningitis Are Not Common

John L. Bass MD1 and Edward L. Kaplan MD1

1 Department of Pediatric Cardiology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455

We read with interest the paper entitled "The Frequency of Pericardial Effusions in Bacterial Meningitis" by Laird and colleagues (Pediatrics 63:764-770, 1979). In our view, the authors' conclusions that "pericardial infection is common in patients with meningitis, but that it is usually of no clinical significance and resolves with antibiotic therapy" are unjustified from the evidence presented. It is well recognized that echocardiography is a sensitive method for detecting the presence of a pericardial effusion, but unfortunately, there are no echocardiographic features which define the etiology of the effusion.