Even in high-income countries, the benefit of corticosteroids is only seen when they are given prior to the first dose of antibiotics, and is greatest in cases of H. influenzae meningitis, the incidence of which has decreased dramatically since the introduction of the Hib vaccine.
Čak i u razvijenim zemljama se povoljni učinak kortikosteroida opaža samo kad ih se primijeni prije prve doze antibiotika, a najveći je u slučajevima Haemophilus influenzae meningitisa, čija se incidencija izrazito smanjila nakon uvođenja Hib cjepiva.