Public call for individual participant data on the treatment of tuberculosis meningitis  

16 September 2026 | Geneva  Tuberculous meningitis is a severe and life-threatening form of tuberculosis (TB) associated with high mortality and a substantial risk of long-term neurological disability. Important evidence gaps remain regarding optimal treatment regimens, the role of adjunctive therapies, and their effects on survival and neurological outcomes. At the same time, new evidence is emerging, with several clinical trials completed and a growing body of observational data becoming available. 

WHO Department for HIV, Tuberculosis, Hepatitis and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) is issuing an open call for data to researchers, country programmes, and their technical partners. WHO invites submissions of individual patient data on treatment of TB meningitis for systematic review and consideration for future updates to global policy and guidance, with the aim of improving outcomes for people affected by this condition. The evidence can stem from randomized clinical trials, operational research or other observational research studies.  

This call is for individual patient data from participants diagnosed based on clinical assessment and/or bacteriological confirmation, and who received regimens consisting of antibacterial agents and/or adjunctive anti-inflammatory therapies (e.g. corticosteroids, aspirin) for treatment of TB meningitis.

The datasets should, as a minimum, include the following data: 

• Composition, duration and dosing of the TB meningitis treatment regimen, including individual drug dosages  

• Details of the adjunctive therapies (e.g., corticosteroids, aspirin)  

• Age and demographic data on the study participants 

• HIV status  

• TB meningitis treatment outcomes 

• Neurological outcomes 

The datasets must meet the following criteria: 

• Include data from at least 10 patients for whom a final TB meningitis treatment outcome has been assigned. The outcome may be based on WHO definitions (Consolidated guidance on tuberculosis data generation and use: module 1: tuberculosis surveillance) or other predefined outcome definitions used by the study investigators.  Neurological outcomes should also be documented. 

• Data should be organized as anonymized, individual records for the minimum set of variables,  with a data dictionary explaining the data, and available in digital format Trial data may be submitted in the trial database format provided that trial CRFs, protocol, and data specification documentation are submitted at the same time. Any concerns about data formatting should be addressed to the UCL team at IGH.TB-IPD@ucl.ac.uk 

With the consent of data owners, submitted datasets will be included in the WHO Tuberculosis Individual Participant Data Platform (WHO TB-IPD), where data are curated and securely managed by University College London (UCL). Data contributors should note that inclusion of a dataset in the platform does not mean that the data will be made publicly available immediately. Access arrangements can be tailored to data owners' preferences, including restricting access to the dataset until primary analyses and publications are complete. The platform is designed to support secure stewardship of data while respecting the interests and publication priorities of contributing investigators. For more information on this platform and data dictionary, please visit  here. 

Researchers and programmes wishing to contribute data are requested to contact WHO by 30 October 2026, by sending an email to HTHPDT@who.int with a subject line ”TB individual patient data set”. 

Contributors whose datasets meet the eligibility criteria will be contacted with further instructions regarding data submission. Datasets should be available for sharing with WHO through UCL, subject to any necessary data-sharing agreements and applicable institutional or ethical requirements. WHO will provide further guidance on the next steps following initial contact.