Grant: Project Grant

Bacterial meningitis is a serious brain infection that occurs worldwide, and commonly affects children under 2 years of age, especially infants aged under 3 months. Although we have highly effective antibiotics, this infection is still associated with a high risk of long-term disability due to damage that occurs to the brain at the time of infection. We currently do not have effective vaccines that we can give to these youngest infants that will provide protection to prevent these infections at this age. So we need better treatment approaches. We know that steroids are an effective treatment for meningitis in older children and adults, when given alongside antibiotics. However, there is a lack of conclusive, high-quality evidence to recommend steroid treatment in young infants and neonates. We cannot assume that these young infants will respond in the same way as older children or adults because the kinds of bacteria that cause meningitis in this age group is different and we know their bodies respond differently to treatments. Our research question is 'Are steroids an effective treatment, when given with antibiotics, in infants under 3 months old with suspected or confirmed bacterial meningitis?' In this proposed project, we will compare outcomes in infants under 3 months of age who are or are not treated with steroids, in addition to standard therapy. We will include in the study any infants between birth (32 weeks gestational age onwards) and 3 months of age with suspected or confirmed bacterial meningitis. The study will take place in children admitted to hospital with meningitis. The key outcomes of the study (that we will compare between the two groups) are: - Mortality - Hearing loss (a common complication of bacterial meningitis) - Development at two years of age - Seizures requiring routine medication This study will provide scientific evidence to recommend whether or not young infants with bacterial meningitis should receive steroids for treatment.