An account is given of 82 cases of purulent meningitis in the first month of life. The mortality rate of 50 per cent is similar to most published figures. The best form of therapy is still undecided. For the present, high dosage gentamycin by intramuscular and intraventricular injection is suggested, together with tri methoprimsulphamethoxazole by mouth. Until it is shown that the infecting agent is not a pneumococcus, intravenous penicillin is recommended as an addi tional drug. Adverse prognostic signs are hypothermia, convulsions, loss of con sciousness, a subnormal temperature, and onset of the disease in the first week of life. If results are to be improved, treatment must be early, effective and pro longed, preferably at childrens' hospitals well equipped to deal with the problem.
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