REVIEW   

Minerva Pediatrica 2019 April;71(2):201-8

DOI: 10.23736/S0026-4946.17.05124-6

Copyright © 2017 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English

Neonatal bacterial meningitis: a systematic review of European available data

Antonio DI MAURO ¹, Francesca CORTESE ² ✉, Nicola LAFORGIA ¹, Beatrice PANTALEO ³, Rachele GIULIANI ³, Donato BONIFAZI ³, Marco M. CICCONE ², Paola GIORDANO ¹

¹ Department of Biomedical Sciences and Human Oncology, University of Bari, Bari, Italy; ² Department of Emergency and Organ Transplantation, University of Bari, Bari, Italy; ³ Consortium for Biological and Pharmacological Evaluation, Bari, Italy

INTRODUCTION: Despite advances in neonatal intensive care and the improvements in surveillance, prevention and vaccination programs, neonatal meningitis still represents an important cause of morbidity and mortality in infants, with the highest mortality in the newborn population. The aim of this article was to summarize current knowledge about this topic with particular attention to management of neonatal meningitis in order to provide a useful tool for clinicians.
EVIDENCE ACQUISITION: We reviewed the existent literature from five European Countries (France, German, Italy, Spain and UK) on the effectiveness of treatments for bacterial meningitis in newborns taking into consideration the antibiotic resistance phenomenon.
EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS: There are few data available on this topic; bacterial neonatal meningitis treatment and management is currently based more on experience than on high quality evidences.
CONCLUSIONS: Identification of the knowledge gaps may stimulate researchers to design new studies aiming to better define management strategies of bacterial meningitis in newborns.

KEY WORDS: Bacterial infections - Meningitis - Disease management - Infant, newborn