title: The impact of dexamethasone on hearing loss in experimental pneumococcal meningitis.
abstract: Bacterial meningitis, particularly that resulting from Streptococcus pneumoniae, is a common cause of acquired profound sensorineural deafness in children. The pathogenesis of meningogenic hearing loss has been investigated in an experimental rabbit model. In this study significant deafness was documented within the first 15 hours of infection. Initiation of antibiotic therapy at this time diminished the severity of hearing loss in most animals. The addition of dexamethasone to antibiotic therapy prevented the development of profound deafness. These results suggest this model will be useful in developing antiinflammatory strategies to improve the outcome of bacterial meningitis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: S M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Bhatt
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cabellos
authors.forename: J B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Nadol
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Halpin
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lauretano
authors.forename: W Z
authors.initials: WZ
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Tuomanen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002443:Ceftriaxone / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003907:Dexamethasone / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D005072:Evoked Potentials, Auditory; D005260:Female; D006319:Hearing Loss, Sensorineural / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D016014:Linear Models; D008586:Meningitis, Pneumococcal / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy*; D011817:Rabbits
chemical_list: D002443:Ceftriaxone; D003907:Dexamethasone