From Presentation to Prognosis: Case-Based Learning in Pediatric Bacterial Meningitis for Postgraduate Training

Pediatric bacterial meningitis is a life-threatening emergency with high morbidity and mortality. Missed diagnoses and treatment delays remain common, and teaching these skills can be challenging because the management requires learners to integrate complex clinical information and make time-sensitive decisions. We developed and evaluated a pediatric bacterial meningitis case-based learning (CBL) module to provide an interactive, evidence-based, and efficient teaching resource.

This 90-minute module incorporates combined experience and expertise of 3 pediatric infectious diseases (PID) faculty, 1 PID trainee, and 1 microbiology faculty. Materials include a learner case with embedded questions, a facilitator guide, pre/post quizzes, and evaluations. We piloted the module in 2024 and evaluated the session with anonymous pre/post 10-item quizzes with pseudonyms used for a paired t test.

Seventy-five learners and 13 facilitators participated. Among 46 learner survey respondents, the overall session rating was 4.9/5; 100% reported that the learning objectives were met, and 93.5% endorsed an anticipated practice change. Forty-nine learners completed matched pre- and postquizzes. Mean quiz scores improved from 5.2/10 to 7.9/10, with a mean paired increase of 2.69 points (SD of paired differences 2.32; 95% CI, 2.03-3.36). This represented a statistically significant improvement by paired t test, t(48) = 8.13, P < .001. All facilitators reported reduced preparation time and would facilitate again.

This module was feasible to implement, highly rated, and improved learner knowledge with perceived behavioral impact. It represents the first open-access CBL resource focused on pediatric meningitis for postgraduate learners, addressing a key curricular gap.