| Title |
Dexamethasone treatment in adults with pneumococcal meningitis: risk factors for death
|
|---|---|
| Published in |
European Journal of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases, February 2006
|
| DOI | 10.1007/s10096-006-0089-z |
| Pubmed ID | |
| Authors |
M. Weisfelt, D. van de Beek, J. de Gans |
| Abstract |
In experimental meningitis, adjunctive treatment with steroids reduces cerebrospinal fluid inflammation and thereby improves neurological outcome. On the basis of these findings, several clinical trials have assessed treatment with adjunctive steroids in bacterial meningitis, with conflicting results. Recently, the results of the European Dexamethasone Study showed a beneficial effect of adjunctive dexamethasone in adults with bacterial meningitis. In that study, the effect of dexamethasone on outcome was most striking in patients with pneumococcal meningitis. The aim of the present study was to further evaluate the effect of dexamethasone in adults with pneumococcal meningitis by performing a post hoc analysis of the European Dexamethasone Study. In a multivariate analysis, tachycardia (p=0.02), advanced age (p=0.03), low score on the Glasgow Coma Scale (p=0.03), positive blood culture (p=0.04), and absence of dexamethasone therapy (p=0.05) were independent predictors for death. Patients who were treated with adjunctive dexamethasone were less likely to develop both systemic and neurological complications during hospitalisation, compared with patients who received placebo. In conclusion, independent risk factors for death in pneumococcal meningitis are tachycardia, advanced age, low level of consciousness, bacteraemia, and absence of dexamethasone therapy. Treatment with adjunctive dexamethasone in adults with pneumococcal meningitis reduces both systemic and neurological complications. |
Mendeley readers
The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 26 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Brazil | 2 | 8% |
| Denmark | 1 | 4% |
| Unknown | 23 | 88% |
Demographic breakdown
| Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Researcher | 4 | 15% |
| Student > Bachelor | 4 | 15% |
| Lecturer > Senior Lecturer | 2 | 8% |
| Student > Doctoral Student | 2 | 8% |
| Other | 2 | 8% |
| Other | 9 | 35% |
| Unknown | 3 | 12% |
| Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Medicine and Dentistry | 12 | 46% |
| Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutical Science | 4 | 15% |
| Neuroscience | 2 | 8% |
| Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology | 1 | 4% |
| Immunology and Microbiology | 1 | 4% |
| Other | 1 | 4% |
| Unknown | 5 | 19% |
Attention Score in Context
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 2. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 26 February 2015.
All research outputs
#14,716,222
of 22,649,029 outputs
Outputs from European Journal of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases
#1,771
of 2,766 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#131,533
of 154,798 outputs
Outputs of similar age from European Journal of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases
#12
of 13 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 22,649,029 research outputs across all sources so far. This one is in the 32nd percentile – i.e., 32% of other outputs scored the same or lower than it.
So far Altmetric has tracked 2,766 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a little more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 6.6. This one is in the 33rd percentile – i.e., 33% of its peers scored the same or lower than it.
Older research outputs will score higher simply because they've had more time to accumulate mentions. To account for age we can compare this Altmetric Attention Score to the 154,798 tracked outputs that were published within six weeks on either side of this one in any source. This one is in the 14th percentile – i.e., 14% of its contemporaries scored the same or lower than it.
We're also able to compare this research output to 13 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one is in the 7th percentile – i.e., 7% of its contemporaries scored the same or lower than it.