Corticosteroids not linked with reduced risk of death for children with bacterial meningitis

Use of corticosteroids in addition to other treatment for children with bacterial meningitis is not associated with a decreased risk of death or shorter hospital stay, according to a study in the May 7 issue of JAMA.

In adults, the use of corticosteroids (synthetic steroids used to reduce inflammation) in addition to primary therapy for bacterial meningitis reduces mortality, although in children the potential benefit of steroids remains unclear, with studies yielding mixed results, according to background information in the article.

Jillian Mongelluzzo, B.A., of the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and colleagues conducted a study to determine the effect of adjuvant (supplemental) corticosteroid therapy on death and length of hospitalization in children with bacterial meningitis. The study included 2,780 children treated for bacterial meningitis, with data from the Pediatric Health Information System, a database containing information from 27 tertiary care children’s hospitals located in 18 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. The median (midpoint) age was 9 months; 57 percent of the patients were males. Streptococcus pneumoniae was the most commonly identified cause of meningitis. Adjuvant corticosteroids were administered to 248 children (8.9 percent).

The overall rate of death was 4.2 percent; the cumulative rates of death were 2.2 percent and 3.1 percent at 7 days and 28 days, respectively, after admission. There were 15 deaths (6.0 percent) in children who received corticosteroids and 102 deaths (4.0 percent) in children who did not receive corticosteroids. Additional analysis indicated the difference in time to death between the two groups was not statistically significant, and that adjuvant corticosteroids were not associated with reducing the risk of death in any age category.