Study	Reason for exclusion
Chartrand 1984	In some patients ampicillin and moxalactam were combined
Donma 1992	This is a review article
Dutta 1979	There is no group with third generation cephalosporin
Feldstein 1987	This is a review article
Hohl 1990	This is a pharmacokinetic study
Kaplan 1988a	This is a review article
Kavaliotis 1989	There is no conventional therapy arm
Kobayashi 1981	A non‐comparative study
Kumar 1993	There is no third generation cephalosporin arm
Lapointe 1984	Not a randomised study
Macfarlane 1979	There is no third generation cephalosporin arm
Marks 1986	There is no third generation cephalosporin arm
Martin 1990	There is no conventional antibiotic arm
Ngu 1987	Not a randomised study
Pecoul 1991	There is no third generation cephalosporin arm
Pfister 1989	Patients had neuroborreliosis
Powell 1990	This is not a study comparing antibiotics; a study of fluid intake
Reed 1983	A pharmacokinetic study
Rodriguez 1985	This study contains the same data as published later by Rodriguez in 1986, which is included
Schaad 1990	A study comparing ceftriaxone and cefuroxime, not conventional antibiotics
Steele 1984	No data presented
Tessin 1989	Ampicillin was added to ceftazidime arm
Tetanye E, 1990	There is no third generation cephalosporin arm
Vallejo 1991	A retrospective study
Wazib 2008	Non‐randomised trial
Yogev 1986	A non‐comparative study
Zavala 1988	The meningitis was not community‐acquired