Adjunctive rifampin therapy for central nervous system staphylococcal infections.

Objective: To review the published clinical data assessing the role of adjunctive rifampin therapy for the treatment of staphylococcal central nervous system (CNS) infections.
Data Sources: A MEDLINE search (January 1966-March 2000) of English-language literature pertaining to CNS staphylococcal infections and rifampin was performed; tertiary sources were also used.
Data Extraction: Human data and case reports were included, as no clinical trials have been published.
Data Synthesis: Retrospective reviews of rifampin used in combination with other antibiotics for serious bacterial infections show conflicting results. Few case reports have described clinical successes with adjunctive rifampin therapy for CNS infections.
Conclusions: The routine use of adjunctive rifampin for CNS infections cannot be justified.