Pre-hospital antibiotic treatment and mortality caused by invasive meningococcal disease, adjusting for indication bias

11Citations
Citations of this article
39Readers
Mendeley users who have this article in their library.

This article is free to access.

Abstract

Background. Mortality from invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) has remained stable over the last thirty years and it is unclear whether pre-hospital antibiotherapy actually produces a decrease in this mortality. Our aim was to examine whether pre-hospital oral antibiotherapy reduces mortality from IMD, adjusting for indication bias. Methods. A retrospective analysis was made of clinical reports of all patients (n = 848) diagnosed with IMD from 1995 to 2000 in Andalusia and the Canary Islands, Spain, and of the relationship between the use of pre-hospital oral antibiotherapy and mortality. Indication bias was controlled for by the propensity score technique, and a multivariate analysis was performed to determine the probability of each patient receiving antibiotics, according to the symptoms identified before admission. Data on in-hospital death, use of antibiotics and demographic variables were collected. A logistic regression analysis was then carried out, using death as the dependent variable, and pre-hospital antibiotic use, age, time from onset of symptoms to parenteral antibiotics and the propensity score as independent variables. Results. Data were recorded on 848 patients, 49 (5.72%) of whom died. Of the total number of patients, 226 had received oral antibiotics before admission, mainly betalactams during the previous 48 hours. After adjusting the association between the use of antibiotics and death for age, time between onset of symptoms and in-hospital antibiotic treatment, pre-hospital oral antibiotherapy remained a significant protective factor (Odds Ratio for death 0.37, 95% confidence interval 0.15 0.93). Conclusion. Pre-hospital oral antibiotherapy appears to reduce IMD mortality.

References Powered by Scopus

This article is free to access.

1218Citations
282Readers
Get full text

Register to see more suggestions

Mendeley helps you to discover research relevant for your work.

Already have an account?

Cite

CITATION STYLE

APA

Perea-Milla, E., Olalla, J., Sánchez-Cantalejo, E., Martos, F., Matute-Cruz, P., Carmona-López, G., … García-Alegría, J. (2009). Pre-hospital antibiotic treatment and mortality caused by invasive meningococcal disease, adjusting for indication bias. BMC Public Health, 9. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-9-95

Readers over time

‘11‘12‘13‘14‘15‘16‘17‘18‘19‘20‘21‘22‘23‘2402468

Readers' Seniority

Tooltip

PhD / Post grad / Masters / Doc 14

58%

Researcher 4

17%

Professor / Associate Prof. 3

13%

Lecturer / Post doc 3

13%

Readers' Discipline

Tooltip

Medicine and Dentistry 20

74%

Nursing and Health Professions 3

11%

Agricultural and Biological Sciences 2

7%

Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Bi... 2

7%

Article Metrics

Tooltip
Social Media
Shares, Likes & Comments: 6139

Save time finding and organizing research with Mendeley

Sign up for free
0