A topic in Clinical Evidence 1 summarizes the evidence on the effects of prophylactic antibiotics for contacts of meningitis patients. No evidence from randomised trials was found and such studies are unlikely to be performed because of high associated risks. Observational data suggests that antibiotics reduce the risk of disease. There were only anecdotal data on the benefits of rifampicin and one retrospective study on penicillin. Sulfadiazine has been studied in the 1940s in an observational cohort study of soldiers. A camp where sulfadiazine was given to all soldiers was compared to a control camp. The incidence of meningococcal disease was lower in the intervention camp (2 cases /7000 soldiers) than in control camp (17/9500) in 8 weeks. According to RCTs, antibiotics (rifampicin, minocycline, or ciprofloxacin) were highly effective in eradicating meningococci from the throat (90-97%, except one trial 73%).
Primary/Secondary Keywords