Association between neuropsychiatric morbidity and streptococcal infections in children

Abstract

We conducted a case control study to study the association between neuropsychiatric morbidity and group A streptococcal infections in children. Twenty two cases of neuropsychiatric morbidity were compared with 64 controls. Fourteen (63.6%) of the 22 cases were positive for ASO and/or ADNB while 21 of the 64 controls (32.8%) were positive for either or both antibodies (OR = 3.428; CI: 1.15-10.18; P=0.026). We conclude that there is a statistically significant association between neuropsychiatric morbidity and streptococcal infection in children.