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BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Recommendations for parenteral antibiotic therapy duration in bacterial meningitis in young infants are based predominantly on expert consensus. Prolonged durations are generally provided for proven and suspected meningitis and are associated with considerable costs and risks. The objective of the study was to review the literature on the duration of parenteral antibiotic therapy and outcomes of bacterial meningitis in infants 21 days were not associated with improved outcomes as compared with shorter courses. The remaining studies had small sample sizes and/or did not stratify outcomes by therapy duration. Meta-analysis was not possible because of the heterogeneity of the treatments and reported outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: Rigorous, prospective clinical trial data are lacking to determine the optimal parenteral antibiotic duration in bacterial meningitis in young infants. Given the associated costs and risks, there is a pressing need for high-quality comparative effectiveness research to further study this question.
Hentenryck et al. (Wed,) studied this question.