Corticosteroids Don't Reduce Mortality in Children with Bacterial Meningitis

Administration of adjuvant corticosteroids mitigates hearing loss in children with Haemophilus influenzae type B (Hib) meningitis. However, the introduction of vaccines against Hib in 1985 and against Streptococcus pneumoniae in 2000 has greatly altered the landscape of bacterial meningitis in children. In a retrospective cohort study, these authors reviewed data from 27 U.S. children's hospitals to determine the effect of adjuvant corticosteroid therapy on mortality and time to discharge in children younger than 18 years who were discharged with a diagnosis of bacterial meningitis from 2001 through 2006.

Among 2780 children (median age, 9 months), 8.9% received adjuvant corticosteroid therapy. The leading bacterial pathogens were S. pneumon…