title: Fatal Bacterial Meningitis Possibly Associated with Substandard Ceftriaxone--Uganda, 2013.
abstract: The burden of disease from bacterial meningitis is highest in low-income countries (1). Early initiation of antibiotic therapy is important in reducing the risk for mortality. Current treatment guidelines recommend the use of an expanded-spectrum cephalosporin (cefotaxime or ceftriaxone) (2), but these therapies increasingly are limited by drug resistance, and are threatened by the proliferation of substandard and falsified medicines (3,4). In February 2013, a case of bacterial meningitis following a middle ear infection was diagnosed in an adolescent at the Mulago National Referral Hospital in Kampala, Uganda. Once-daily treatment with 2 g of intravenous ceftriaxone administered according to guidelines failed, and the patient died. To determine whether the patient's treatment failure and subsequent death might be related to the ceftriaxone product administered, a sealed vial similar to the one administered to the patient was analyzed at the University of Ottawa, Canada, and was found to contain only 0.455 g of the drug, not 1 g as stated by the manufacturer. This would have resulted in subtherapeutic dosing. Substandard medicines are a global problem that disproportionately affects low-income countries, leading to fatal consequences and promoting the emergence of drug resistance (4).
authors.forename: Jason W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Nickerson
authors.forename: Amir
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Attaran
authors.forename: Brian D
authors.initials: BD
authors.lastname: Westerberg
authors.forename: Sharon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Curtis
authors.forename: Sean
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Overton
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Mayer
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002443:Ceftriaxone / Q000592:standards* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D017809:Fatal Outcome; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D016920:Meningitis, Bacterial / Q000188:drug therapy*; D014454:Uganda
chemical_list: D002443:Ceftriaxone