Apparent Meningococcemia: Clinical Features of Disease Due to Haemophilus influenzae and Neisseria meningitidis

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1983 ◽  
Vol 72 (4) ◽  
pp. 469-472
Author(s):  
Richard F. Jacobs ◽  
Steven Hsi ◽  
Christopher B. Wilson ◽  
Denis Benjamin ◽  
Arnold L. Smith ◽  
...  

To determine the etiology of apparent meningococcemia, all cases of sepsis with coagulopathy, purpura, and/or adrenal hemorrhage (Waterhouse-Friderichsen syndrome) with and without shock occurring over a 12-year period were reviewed. A total of 42 cases were identified; 30 cases were caused by Neisseria meningitidis and 12 cases were caused by Haemophilus influenzae. Compared with patients with disease caused by H influenzae, patients with meningococcal disease were older, more often male, more often contracted the disease in winter-spring, and had a longer duration of antecedent symptoms; however, none of these differences was statistically significant. All patients were febrile (>38°C) and appeared toxic. Similar proportions in each group had shock and disseminated intravascular coagulopathy at the time of admission. Ten of 12 patients with H influenzae infection compared with 15/30 (P < .05) with meningococcal infection were lethargic or comatose at the time of admission. Nine of 12 patients with H influenzae infection died compared with 5/30 with meningococcal disease (P < .005); the mean time from onset of symptoms to death with H influenzae infection (20.7 ± 11.4 [SE] hours) was significantly shorter (P < .05) than with meningococcal infection (120 ± 74.4 hours). Children with clinical signs of sepsis and with purpura, petechiae, or coagulopathy may have N meningitidis or H influenzae as etiologic agents. Initial antibiotic therapy should be directed against these pathogens.

2006 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 142-164 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lee H. Harrison

SUMMARY Neisseria meningitidis is the leading cause of bacterial meningitis in the United States and worldwide. A serogroup A/C/W-135/Y polysaccharide meningococcal vaccine has been licensed in the United States since 1981 but has not been used universally outside of the military. On 14 January 2005, a polysaccharide conjugate vaccine that covers meningococcal serogroups A, C, W-135, and Y was licensed in the United States for 11- to 55-year-olds and is now recommended for the routine immunization of adolescents and other high-risk groups. This review covers the changing epidemiology of meningococcal disease in the United States, issues related to vaccine prevention, and recommendations on the use of the new vaccine.


2012 ◽  
Vol 48 (6) ◽  
pp. 434-438 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer E. Slovak ◽  
Valerie J. Parker ◽  
Krysta L. Deitz

Two young, unrelated, spayed female Labrador retrievers were evaluated for severe, diffuse, generalized erythema and edema of the skin. Both dogs exhibited signs of disseminated intravascular coagulopathy and were euthanized. On postmortem examination, toxic shock syndrome (TSS) was diagnosed based on histopathology and supported by skin cultures. TSS is a rarely reported disease in veterinary medicine and can cause acute and profound clinical signs. Rapid recognition of this disease process and immediate treatment may improve the clinical outcome.


2012 ◽  
Vol 17 (44) ◽  
Author(s):  
R Puleston ◽  
C Beck ◽  
M Tahir ◽  
M Bardhan ◽  
P Charlemagne ◽  
...  

We report an outbreak of Neisseria meningitidis serogroup W135, associated with a transient transmission event between asymptomatic individuals in a healthcare setting. Two elderly persons subsequently developed invasive meningococcal disease. The duration and type of close contact for those directly involved in the probable transmission incident would not have warranted chemoprophylaxis according to current guidelines. Meningococcal infection in older persons usually presents with pneumonia rather than meningitis or septicaemia with purpura.


1998 ◽  
Vol 26 (149) ◽  
pp. 34 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mª Amparo Morant Gimeno ◽  
J. Díez Domingo ◽  
C. Gimeno ◽  
N. de la Muela ◽  
I. Pereiró ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 56-62
Author(s):  
M. I. Gritsay ◽  
M. A. Koroleva ◽  
N. N. Fomkina ◽  
I. S. Koroleva

Aims. The purpose of this study was to identify current epidemiological features of meningococcal infection in Moscow.Materials and methods. Cases of invasive meningococcal disease in Moscow from 2014 to 2018 and the biomaterial from patients with an invasive meningococcal disease were analyzed.Results. The features of the epidemic process of meningococcal disease in Moscow were revealed: increasing in the incidence rate involving teenagers and young adults into the epidemic process; meningococcal strains of serogroups W and A increased in the etiology of the invasive meningococcal disease; high mortality rate.Conclusions. It seems reasonable to recommend vaccination against meningococcal disease by including adolescents, young adults and persons over 65 years old.


2007 ◽  
Vol 76 (2) ◽  
pp. 704-716 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yih-Ling Tzeng ◽  
Charlene M. Kahler ◽  
Xinjian Zhang ◽  
David S. Stephens

ABSTRACT Two-component regulatory systems are involved in processes important for bacterial pathogenesis. Inactivation of the misR/misS system in Neisseria meningitidis results in the loss of phosphorylation of the lipooligosaccharide inner core and causes attenuation in a mouse model of meningococcal infection. One hundred seventeen (78 up-regulated and 39 down-regulated) potential regulatory targets of the MisR/MisS (MisR/S) system were identified by transcriptional profiling of the NMBmisR mutant and the parental wild-type meningococcal strain NMB. The regulatory effect was further confirmed in a subset of target genes by quantitative real-time PCR and β-galactosidase transcriptional fusion reporter assays. The MisR regulon includes genes encoding proteins necessary for protein folding in the bacterial cytoplasm and periplasm, transcriptional regulation, metabolism, iron assimilation, and type I protein transport. Mutation in the MisR/S system caused increased sensitivity to oxidative stress and also resulted in decreased susceptibility to complement-mediated killing by normal human serum. To identify the direct targets of MisR regulation, electrophoretic mobility shift assays were carried out using purified MisR-His6 protein. Among 22 genes examined, misR directly interacted with 14 promoter regions. Six promoters were further investigated by DNase I protection assays, and a MisR-binding consensus sequence was proposed. Thus, the direct regulatory targets of MisR and the minimal regulon of the meningococcal MisR/S two-component signal transduction system were characterized. These data indicate that the MisR/S system influences a wide range of biological functions in N. meningitidis either directly or via intermediate regulators.


2021 ◽  
pp. 109980042110172
Author(s):  
Eman Mahmoud Qasim Emleek ◽  
Amani Anwar Khalil

Background: The disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) is under-recognized in critically ill patients. The International Society of Thrombosis and Haemostasis (ISTH; DIC) provides a useful scoring system for accurate DIC identification. The study investigated the period prevalence of ISTH DIC from 2015 to 2017 in critically ill patients. Methods: In this multi-center, retrospective observational study, we included all patients identified with a DIC code or medically diagnosed with DIC during all admissions. Based on ISTH DIC scores ≥ 5, patients were classified with overt DIC. Results: A total of 220 patients were included in this study. The period prevalence of DIC was 4.45%. The point prevalence of DIC has increased from 3.49% to 5.58% from 2015 to 2017 (27.7% female; median age 61.6 years). Based on the ISTH-Overt DIC criteria, 45.2% of the sample had sepsis. Overt DIC patients had significantly lower baseline hemoglobin (HB; t = 2.137, df = 193, p = 0.034), platelet count ( t = 3.591, df = 193, p < 0.001) and elevated serum creatinine level ( M = 2.1, SD = 1.5, t = 2.203, df = 193, p = 0.029) compared to non–Overt DIC. There was a statistically significant elevation in FDPs among Overt DIC compared to non–Overt DIC (χ2 = 30.381, df = 1, p < 0.001). Overt DIC patients had significantly prolonged PT ( U = 2,298, z = 5.7, p < 0.001), PTT ( U = 2,334, z = 2.0, p = 0.045) and INR ( U = 2,541, z = 5.1, p < 0.001) compared to those with non–Overt DIC. Conclusion: The ISTH overt-DIC score can be used in critically ill patients regardless of the underlying disease. Efforts are required to predict and identify overt DIC using a valid scoring system on admission and follow-up of adult patients admitted to ICU.


PEDIATRICS ◽  
1987 ◽  
Vol 80 (2) ◽  
pp. 283-287
Author(s):  
Allen A. Lenoir ◽  
Paul D. Granoff ◽  
Dan M. Granoff

Fifty infants, 2 to 6 months of age, were vaccinated with Haemophilus influenzae type b capsular polysaccharide covalently linked to an outer membrane protein from Neisseria meningitidis group B. Subjects were given two injections and were randomly assigned to receive the injections separated by 1 or 2 months. Each dose contained 15 µg of polysaccharide and 51 µg of protein, or approximately twice the amount of polysaccharide as used in our previous trial (Lancet 1986;2:299). Fevers of 38.0° to 38.8°C developed in three infants (6%) within 24 hours after vaccination, but there were no other notable reactions. Following one injection, the geometric mean antibody concentration increased from 0.13 µg/mL in preimmune serum to 1.50 µg/mL in serum obtained 1 to 2 months later (P &lt; .001). After a second injection, there was a further increase in serum antibody (geometric mean = 3.11 µg/mL, P &lt; .007). The geometric mean antibody concentration of the group reimmunized 2 months after the first injection was higher than that in the group reimmunized after 1 month (3.95 v 2.32 µg/mL, P = .05, by analysis of covariance with age as the covariant). These data confirm our previous preliminary observations on the safety and immunogenicity of this new conjugate vaccine in infants 2 to 6 months of age. The data suggest that a 2-month interval between the first and second injections results in higher levels of serum antibody than a 1-month interval.


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