Duration of anti-tubercular treatment in tuberculous meningitis: Challenges and opportunity

Background: The duration of anti-tuberculous therapy in tuberculous meningitis is controversial. There is variation in recommendations by different societies and expert groups on this issue.
Objective: To determine the strength of evidence for short-term therapy in tuberculous meningitis through review of literature and critical appraisal.
Materials and Methods: Cochrane CENTRAL (Issue 4, 2010), TRIP database, and PubMed (from 1966 to present) were searched for relevant papers with keywords ′meningeal tuberculosis′ and tuberculous meningitis′ combined with ′chemotherapy′. A critical appraisal of a systematic review was done using standard criteria.
Results: A total of 10 relevant papers were identified. All papers were included in a systematic review. The systematic review did not specify study design of studies to be included, had only case series but no randomised controlled trial, and unclear definition of endpoints.
Conclusions: The evidence base for short-term therapy for tuberculous meningitis is weak. There is a need to conduct a randomised controlled trial with non-inferiority hypothesis of adequate sample size with well-defined end points and adequate follow-up. This is a challenge as well as opportunity for Indian neurologists.

Keywords
Randomized controlled trial, short-term chemotherapy, systematic review, tuberculous meningitis