Delayed recognition of fatal invasive meningococcal disease in adults

Invasive meningococcal disease can be difficult to detect early in its course when patients may appear well and the severity of their illness is obscured by non-specific complaints. We report five cases of meningococcal sepsis in adult patients who presented to an emergency department early in the c...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJMM Case Reports (Online) Vol. 3; no. 3; p. e005027
Main Authors Nagel, Frederick W, Ezeoke, Ifeoma, Antwi, Mike, Del Rosso, Paula E, Dorsinville, Marie, Isaac, Beth M, Hayden, Althea, Hoffman, Robert S, Weingart, Scott D, Weiss, Don
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published England Microbiology Society 28.06.2016
Subjects
Case Series
Neisseria meningitidis
Meningococcal Infections/complications
New York City/epidemiology
Meningococcal Infections/prevention & control
Risk Factors
United States/epidemiol
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Summary:Invasive meningococcal disease can be difficult to detect early in its course when patients may appear well and the severity of their illness is obscured by non-specific complaints. We report five cases of meningococcal sepsis in adult patients who presented to an emergency department early in the course of their disease, but whose severity of illness was not recognized. Suspicion of meningococcal sepsis should be heightened in the setting of hypotension, tachycardia, elevated shock index, leukopaenia with left shift, thrombocytopaenia and hypokalaemia, prompting early sepsis care.
ISSN:2053-3721
2053-3721
DOI:10.1099/jmmcr.0.005027