Evidence-based On-call

Meningitis

Therapy

Give dexamethasone to children with proven Haemophilus influenza b meningitis. ^a

Why?

Children with a proven H. influenzae b meningitis who receive dexamethasone are less likely to develop hearing loss. ^a

Dexamethasone reduces hearing loss in children with H. influenzae b meningitis.

Patient	Treatment	Comparison	Outcome	CER	OR (95% CI)	NNT (95% CI)
children with H. influenzae b meningitis ^a	dexamethasone	no therapy	hearing loss at weeks	12%	0.31 (0.14 to 0.69)	13 (10 to 30)