Articles Related to National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences
Case Series of Pneumococcal Meningitis in the Post 13-valent Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine Era
Streptococcus pneumoniae is a leading cause of meningitis. Although rates of bacterial meningitis have decreased after pneumococcal
conjugate vaccine introduction, pneumococcal meningitis has not been eliminated. In this case series, we describe the presentation,
serotypes, and outcomes of 11 children with pneumococcal meningitis at a tertiary children’s hospital after the 13-valent pneumococcal
conjugate vaccine (PCV13) was introduced, from 2011-2013. The median age of children with meningitis was 7 years. The majority
of the isolates (82%) were susceptible to penicillin. Most isolates (73%) were serotyped and there was no evidence of disease caused
by serotypes contained in PCV7
Understanding the Value of Case Reports and Studies in the Context of Clinical Research, Research Design, and Evidence-Based Practice
Case reports and studies may be defined as the non-experimental description of an individual or a few of cases in terms of new or unusual presentation of the diseases, an unexpected disease course or pathophysiology, and new effects (either beneficial or detrimental) of existing medications or procedures. Although they suffer from the non-experimental nature and other potential bias and errors, case reports and studies have played and will continue to play an important part in the advancement of medicine.