THE IMPACT OF DEXAMETHASONE ON HEARING-LOSS IN EXPERIMENTAL PNEUMOCOCCAL MENINGITIS

Bacterial meningitis, particularly that resulting from Streptococcus p neumoniae, is a common cause of acquired profound sensorineural deafne ss in children. The pathogenesis of meningogenic hearing loss has been investigated in an experimental rabbit model. In this study significa nt deafness was documented within the first 15 hours of infection. Ini tiation of antibiotic therapy at this time diminished the severity of hearing loss in most animals. The addition of dexamethasone to antibio tic therapy prevented the development of profound deafness. These resu lts suggest this model will be useful in developing antiinflammatory s trategies to improve the outcome of bacterial meningitis.