Sustained Benefit of Corticosteroid Therapy in Adults with Bacterial Meningitis

Controversy persists about the potential benefit of corticosteroid therapy for patients with bacterial meningitis, as results have differed between children and adults (JW Infect Dis May 21 2008) and between developed and developing countries (JW Infect Dis Dec 12 2007). Investigators in the Netherlands have now conducted a follow-up analysis of adults who were enrolled in a randomized, placebo-controlled trial of dexamethasone (10 mg every 6 hours for 4 days) for acute bacterial meningitis (JW Infect Dis Dec 20 2002). Survival data came from the Dutch Municipal Population Register, so participants outside the Netherlands were excluded from the analysis.

The trial itself lasted from June 1993 through December 2001, and the median follow-up f…