Partial antibiotic therapy in Haemophilus infuenzae meningitis. Its effect on cerebrospinal fluid abnormalities

S. D. Davis, H. R. Hill, P. Feigl and E. J. Arnstein

To examine the influence of partial antibiotic therapy on laboratory findings in Haemophilus influenzae meningitis, 272 untreated cases and 202 partially treated, culture-positive cases from 1953 through 1971 were reviewed. There was no significant difference between the two groups with respect to several cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) values. Both the untreated and partially treated groups had a similar proportion of cases with negative Gram stain and CSF glucose level over 40 mg/100 ml or a predominance of CSF mononuclear cells. Eight patients had received ampicillin sodium, chloramphenicol, or tetracycline for two days or more. The CSF findings of these patients resembled those of the untreated group. The data support the conclusion that antibiotics in the usual outpatient dosages seldom interfere with the diagnosis of H influenzae meningitis.