Trial of Chloramphenicol for Meningitis in Northern Savanna of Africa

In a controlled trial chloramphenicol proved as effective and much cheaper than penicillin for the treatment of group A meningococcal meningitis in Zaria, Nigeria. A short course of five days cured most patients. Adults and older children were soon able to take chloramphenicol by mouth, which reduce...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:BMJ 1973-08, Vol.3 (5876), p.379-381
Main Authors: Whittle, H. C., Davidson, N. McD, Greenwood, B. M., Warrell, D. A., Tomkins, A., Tugwell, P., Zalin, A., Bryceson, A. D. M., Parry, E. H. O., Brueton, M., Duggan, M., Rajković, A. D.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Administration, Oral
Adults
Age groups
Antibiotics
Cerebrospinal Fluid - microbiology
Child
Child, Preschool
Children
Chloramphenicol - administration & dosage
Chloramphenicol - therapeutic use
Clinical Trials as Topic
Dosage
Dosage forms
Epidemics
Female
Haemophilus meningitis
Hemagglutination Tests
Humans
Infant
Injections, Intramuscular
Male
Meningitis, Meningococcal - drug therapy
Meningitis, Meningococcal - immunology
Meningococcal meningitis
Neisseria meningitidis - isolation & purification
Nigeria
Papers and Originals
Penicillin
Penicillin Resistance
Penicillins - therapeutic use
Sulfonamides - therapeutic use
Citations: Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:In a controlled trial chloramphenicol proved as effective and much cheaper than penicillin for the treatment of group A meningococcal meningitis in Zaria, Nigeria. A short course of five days cured most patients. Adults and older children were soon able to take chloramphenicol by mouth, which reduced the cost and simplified treatment. It is suggested that chloramphenicol is a suitable alternative to sulphonamides for the treatment of meningococcal meningitis in those parts of Africa where the organism is sulphonamide-resistant.
ISSN:0007-1447
0959-8138
1468-5833
DOI:10.1136/bmj.3.5876.379