1 Department of Medicine, State University of New York at Buffalo, 462 Grider Street, Buffalo, NY 14215
The article, "Long-Term Outcome of Hemophilus influenzae Meningitis Related to Antibiotic Treatment" (Pediatrics 60:1, July 1977), attempts to establish several points regarding antibiotic efficacy without clear documentation. First, diagnostic criteria included demonstration of the organism in "cerebrospinal fluid or blood, or both." However, it is unclear how many patients had positive blood cultures with negative CSF cultures; it is also unclear how the diagnosis of meningitis was made under these circumstances. Similarly, no mention is made of how many children received antibiotics prior to hospitalization or whether these antibiotics were appropriately chosen by subsequently available sensitivity data.