J Neurocrit Care.  2017 Dec;10(2):69-75. 10.18700/jnc.170024.

Corticosteroid Treatment for Central Nervous System Infections

• Shin DH

• KMID: 2405760
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.18700/jnc.170024

Abstract

Infectious diseases of the central nervous system (CNS) cause inflammatory processes within the brain and spinal cord that can lead to morbidity and mortality in a high proportion of patients. Pharmacological strategies to dampen inflammation have been investigated, and steroids are one of the adjunctive treatments for bacterial meningitis, tuberculous meningitis, and herpes simplex virus encephalitis. In this paper, we review the recent literature that provides guidelines for the use of steroids in combination with appropriate antimicrobial therapy, and we discuss how systemic steroid treatment is an important aspect of treatment regimens for CNS infectious diseases.

Keyword

Steroids; Meningitis, Bacterial; Tuberculosis; Encephalitis

MeSH Terms

Brain
Central Nervous System Infections*
Central Nervous System*
Communicable Diseases
Encephalitis
Humans
Inflammation
Meningitis, Bacterial
Mortality
Simplexvirus
Spinal Cord
Steroids
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, Meningeal
Steroids

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