Risk of bacterial meningitis in children with cochlear implants.

Background In June 2002, the Food and Drug Administration received reports of bacterial meningitis in patients with cochlear implants for treatment of hearing loss. Implants that included a positioner (a wedge inserted next to the implanted electrode to facilitate transmission of the electrical signal by pushing the electrode against the medial wall of the cochlea) were voluntarily recalled in the United States in July 2002. Methods We identified patients with meningitis and conducted a cohort study and a nested case–control investigation involving 4264 children who had received cochlear implants in the United States between January 1, 1997, and August 6, 2002, and who were less than six years of age when they received the implants. We calculated the incidence of meningitis in the cohort and assessed risk factors for meningitis among patients and among 199 controls, using data from interviews with parents and abstracted from medical records. Results We identified 26 children with bacterial meningitis. The...