Which statement about viral meningitis in children is true?

• A. Typically requires immediate bacterial-spectrum antibiotics before culture.
• B. Rarely life-threatening
• C. Always presents with neck stiffness
• D. Always requires surgical treatment

Answer: (B)

Viral meningitis in children tends to be a milder illness with a good recovery, and life-threatening complications are uncommon. That makes the statement that it is rarely life-threatening the best descriptor. In practice, when meningitis is suspected, clinicians often start empiric antibiotics to cover bacterial meningitis until tests separate the viral from the bacterial cause; however, this approach addresses suspected meningitis in general, not a feature unique to the viral infection itself, and antibiotics are stopped if viral etiology is confirmed. Neck stiffness is not required for the diagnosis and can be absent, and surgical treatment has no role in viral meningitis.