The trial will include more than 1000 babies and will take place across 60 hospitals in the UK and 14 hospitals in Canada over the next four and a half years.
Bacterial meningitis affects about 350 babies every year in the UK. Even with treatment, around one in 20 of these babies die and one in three who survive have long-term problems like deafness, cerebral palsy, and significant developmental difficulties. In older children with bacterial meningitis, steroids can reduce serious long-term problems but it is not yet known whether steroids can help babies under three months old.
The BOBBi trial will find out if giving steroids to babies with suspected bacterial meningitis, in addition to receiving their usual treatment of antibiotics, means more babies survive without long term difficulties. BOBBi is a randomised controlled trial with two groups: one group will get a steroid (dexamethasone) along with usual care, and the other group will get usual care without the steroid. Each baby has an equal chance of being in either group.
The trial is being run by the National Perinatal Epidemiology Unit (NPEU) Clinical Trials Unit at Oxford Population Health and the Pediatric Outcome Improvement through Coordination of Research Networks (POPCORN) research platform in Canada.
Read the full story on the Nuffield Department of Population Health website.