Risk of Bacterial Meningitis and Death in Children with Cochlear Implants

Liebling:-))) said:
Yes, that´s right but I prefer to not do CI surgery to risk my deaf babies/toddlers´s life.
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That's fine. It's a personal choice. Do you have deaf children?
 
R2D2 said:
Deaf children are more at risk for bacterial meningitis anyway, with or without CIs. They don't really know why. So vaccination should be seriously considered for all deaf children.

Have a look at this link:
ScienceDaily: Hearing Loss In Children Leads To Substantial Meningitis Risk
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663,963 children born in Denmark between 1995 and 2004 and only 39 had meningitis.
600,000 people worldwide with CI and 90 had meningitis after CI.
Therefore CI people has higher chance of getting meningitis after CI.

It didn't say that the 663,963 children were born deaf. It sounds like that some were born deaf and some lost hearing later on. It said of the 39, five of them have hearing loss first then meningitis afterward. (I wonder how many of those 5 have CI before coming down with meningitis.) Does that means 31 of them became deaf because of meningitis? That's what it sounds like. If that is what it is, then deafness doesn't increase the risk of meningitis.

I personally knew two friends who became deaf after a bout with meningitis. Only one deaf friend came down with a bad case of flu that could be meningitis. I myself never had meningitis.
 
Buffalo said:
It didn't say that the 663,963 children were born deaf. It sounds like that some were born deaf and some lost hearing later on. It said of the 39, five of them have hearing loss first then meningitis afterward. (I wonder how many of those 5 have CI before coming down with meningitis.) Does that means 31 of them became deaf because of meningitis? That's what it sounds like. If that is what it is, then deafness doesn't increase the risk of meningitis.
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The statistical incidence of deafness in the population is approximately about 1 in every 100 children. However, the incidence of meningitis in the Danish population of over 600,000 children was 5 deaf children out of 39 total cases, which is well overrepresented compared to the general population - to the order of twelve times. I know that this is a really rough way of looking at it and I'm sure Jillio might have a lot to say about the crude way I'm looking at the figures but I can see why the article is saying that pre-existing deafness appears to be a risk factor here.
 
john57 said:
Gee, this is a very old thread
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It make no difference either this is old thread or not. We still can update this thread whatever we like to.

Here:

Monday, October 08, 2007

Children with Cochlear Implants at Increased Risk for Bacterial Meningitis


Children with a cochlear implant have a greater risk of developing pneumococcal (Streptococcus pneumoniae) meningitis compared to children in the general population, according to a study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and others published in the July 31 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM). Additionally, children with a specific type of cochlear implant that had an extra piece called a "positioner" had 4.5 times the risk of developing meningitis compared to recipients of other cochlear implant types. The manufacturer voluntarily recalled the device with the positioner last year.

The CDC and FDA began investigating this possible link between the implants and meningitis in the summer of 2002 after receiving reports of bacterial meningitis among recipients of cochlear implants. As soon as the FDA became aware of a possible association between cochlear implants and bacterial meningitis, the agency issued a public health Web notice and began working with manufacturers of cochlear implants to determine the nature and scope of the problem. As a result, the company that made the implant with the extra positioner voluntarily withdrew that product from the market.

"This study is the result of excellent collaboration between the CDC, FDA and health departments of 36 states, Chicago, New York City and Washington, D.C," said HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson. "The government quickly identified a health problem, took immediate steps to find the cause, and alerted individuals with cochlear implants and their physicians to measures they could take to protect against it."

The study authors note that individuals who are candidates for cochlear implants may have factors that increase their risk of meningitis compared to the general population even prior to being implanted with the device. However, the study was not designed to determine the risk due to these preexisting factors.

"These findings have important implications for children with cochlear implants. Most bacterial meningitis is vaccine-preventable so children who have a cochlear implant, or who will receive one, should have all recommended childhood vaccinations, including age-specific pneumococcal vaccinations for high-risk children," said Dr. Julie Gerberding, CDC Director.

"Working closely with CDC's network for monitoring infection outbreaks is an important part of how we monitor the safety of medical products in use in the population," said FDA Commissioner Dr. Mark. B. McClellan. "In this case, we identified a heightened risk of meningitis that demanded prompt action, and the FDA was able to take it."

Nearly 10,000 children and 13,000 adults in the United States with severe-to-profound hearing loss have a cochlear implant. The implant is an electronic device containing electrodes that are surgically inserted into the cochlea (inner ear) to activate nerve fibers and allow sound signals to be transmitted to the brain. It can help children with hearing loss perceive sounds and learn to speak.

The study group involved 4,264 children who received a cochlear implant in the United States between January 1, 1997 and August 6, 2002, and who were younger than age 6 at the time of the implant.

A total of 29 cases of bacterial meningitis were identified in 26 children (three children had two episodes of the illness). Fifteen children had meningitis caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae. Less than one case of the disease would be seen in a group this size, during the same time period, based on the rates in the general population.

Nine of the 29 cases occurred within a month following the cochlear implant surgery, the remaining 20 occurred up to 36 months later.


The personal injury information on InjuryBoard.com is copyrighted material.
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Children with Cochlear Implants at Increased Risk for Bacterial Meningitis News Article - Lawsuit news - Find Trial Lawyers and Attorneys with Experience in Children with Cochlear Implants at Increased Risk for Bacterial Meningitis News Article - Per
 
Kalista said:
My kids and I went to the picnic and meet several parents who have Deaf children ages from 18 mos old to 13 yrs old. Know what, my kids stunned to hear those children at age 8 to 12. Their speech sounds like Deaf voice.

It was very painful for me to see those adorable babies with huge scar on little cute heads. The parents were thrilled that their babies are able to hearing like them. Oh please... It makes me very furious. Why can't those parents accept for their Deaf children who are.

I meet several teenager kids, they are unhappy what their parents make the decision for them. They prefer to be Deaf like us. It is really sad to see the parents make huge mistake decision what the best for their Deaf children.

I am very sorry, I do NOT support 18 mos old to teenager ages what the parents make the decision for them. I do respect for the adults's decision because it is their bodies.

I would NEVER agree with this medical society to allow 18 mos old babies to get a cochlear implants.

It is really SAD because FDA does not update accurately information how risky for those young kids get the cochlear implants. FDA does not want to scare the parents how dangerous for those young ages Deaf children get the CI.

Those Deaf children ALWAYS to be DEAF like us. Cochlear Implants does not cure to be hearing !!

I learned how to speak since I was three years old. I sat on the fucking wooden chair to learn how to speak. Know what, I learned how to speak as a monkey's voice. What is the fucking waste of my time to learn how to speak for all those years.

I do not learn another things in academic. I just learned how to speak M, N, P, F, etc... No wonder, I can speak accurately FUCK as perfect !! Other rest of words, I can't speak that very well.

My kids said, my speak sounds like a monkey and chicken. I really appreciated what R.I. School for the Deaf taught me how to speak like a monkey.

I am very against for 18 mos old Deaf babies get the cochlear implants. :mad2:

Know what, my children said, if their children will be Deaf. They would rather NOT get them a cochlear implants even if the technology is much improved. They prefer to teach their Deaf children to using ASL as communication. Do not need to learn how to speak.

~ Sabrina
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Oh Lord... Here we go again.
 
rockdrummer, Kalista created this thread in 2003. We updated her thread here.
 
I remeber that there was a problem with one of the implants that was using a prositioner that caused problems with infections and the like. The manufacture discontinued the use of the prositioner.
 
Liebling:-))) said:
It make no difference either this is old thread or not. We still can update this thread whatever we like to.

Not a problem with me but some people may not realized that the date that this thread was created and at times the information can become dated. This in fact caused a problem with other medical boards that I am a member of and the thread became current because of a database problem and users did not know that the medical information given by the user was not current.
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R2D2 said:
Deaf children are more at risk for bacterial meningitis anyway, with or without CIs. They don't really know why. So vaccination should be seriously considered for all deaf children.

Have a look at this link:
ScienceDaily: Hearing Loss In Children Leads To Substantial Meningitis Risk
Click to expand...

Just because 5 out of 39 deaf children later contracted meningitis does not prove cause and effect. And, I would say for deafness to increase the risk of meningitis would be dependent quite a bit on eitiology and possible malformations withinthe ear structure itself. Theefore, not all forms of deafness would translate to an increased risk of meningitis for all deaf children. And,e ven if deafness increased the risk for meningitis in and of itself, then surgery on top of an already increased risk would even further increase the risk.
 
jillio said:
Just because 5 out of 39 deaf children later contracted meningitis does not prove cause and effect. And, I would say for deafness to increase the risk of meningitis would be dependent quite a bit on eitiology and possible malformations withinthe ear structure itself. Theefore, not all forms of deafness would translate to an increased risk of meningitis for all deaf children. And,e ven if deafness increased the risk for meningitis in and of itself, then surgery on top of an already increased risk would even further increase the risk.
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Oh yeah, I agree but they don't even know yet what etiologies are causing the apparent corelation and why. I guess my point is that when statistics about CIs and children have been presented before, the children have been compared to hearing children, which I feel is not quite comparing apples with apples in terms of assessing how much additional risk is created and whether it's a small risk or a significant one.

It also does show that this is an area that is currently poorly understood and much more research needs to be done.
 
Liebling:-))) said:
Welcome :)

Accord my post # 46

Children with Cochlear Implants at Increased Risk for Bacterial Meningitis News Article - Lawsuit news - Find Trial Lawyers and Attorneys with Experience in Children with Cochlear Implants at Increased Risk for Bacterial Meningitis News Article - Per
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Thanks for the update about the Children with Cochlear Implants at Increased Risk for Bacterial Meningitis.

I wish the parents would read this article before they make the right decision. I have seen three children have fluid in their ears and bad headache ages at 12, 14, and 15. They had their implants when they were 3 and 4 years old. Their parents admitted that they feel so guilty because their Deaf children are suffering with bad headache due to fluid inner their ears. I am not sure, what was exactly cause.
 
R2D2 said:
Oh yeah, I agree but they don't even know yet what etiologies are causing the apparent corelation and why. I guess my point is that when statistics about CIs and children have been presented before, the children have been compared to hearing children, which I feel is not quite comparing apples with apples in terms of assessing how much additional risk is created and whether it's a small risk or a significant one.

It also does show that this is an area that is currently poorly understood and much more research needs to be done.
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Agreed. A comparison of deaf children without CI who have contracted meningitis, and deaf children with CI who have contracted meningitis would be a more realistic comparison base.
 
From here:
August 22, 2002
Update:
Cochlear Implants and Bacterial Meningitis

Patients who become deaf as a result of meningitis are also at increased risk of subsequent episodes of meningitis compared to the general population.
 
jillio said:
Agreed. A comparison of deaf children without CI who have contracted meningitis, and deaf children with CI who have contracted meningitis would be a more realistic comparison base.
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With all your access to Medical Journals and University databases you would have no problem finding a study / article on it.
I'm looking forward to reading one of them.
 
Cloggy said:
From here:
August 22, 2002
Update:
Cochlear Implants and Bacterial Meningitis

Patients who become deaf as a result of meningitis are also at increased risk of subsequent episodes of meningitis compared to the general population.
Click to expand...
My son became deaf as a result of menengitis due to a congenital malformation in one of his cochlea's in which there was a csf leak. In this scenereo an ear infection could manifest to menengitis. Until the CSF leak was packed he was at an extremely high risk of contracting menengitis again. Something the doctors overlooked. Dont even get me started on that one.
 
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