Effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Clinical Characteristics and Outcomes of Adult Pneumococcal Meningitis Patients – a Dutch Prospective Nationwide Cohort Study

To investigate clinical characteristics and outcomes of patients with pneumococcal meningitis during the COVID-19 pandemic. In a Dutch prospective cohort, risk factors and clinical characteristics of pneumococcal meningitis episodes occurring during the COVID-19 pandemic (starting March 2020) were compared with those from baseline and the time afterwards. Outcomes were compared with an age-adjusted logistic regression model. We included 1,699 patients in 2006–2020, 50 patients in 2020–2021, and 182 patients in 2021–2023. After March 2020 relatively more alcoholism was reported (2006–2020, 6.1