Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Case Reports
. 2016 Jun 28;3(3):e005027.
doi: 10.1099/jmmcr.0.005027. eCollection 2016 Jun.

Delayed recognition of fatal invasive meningococcal disease in adults

Frederick W Nagel  1 , Ifeoma Ezeoke  2 , Mike Antwi  2 , Paula E Del Rosso  2 , Marie Dorsinville  2 , Beth M Isaac  2 , Althea Hayden  2 , Robert S Hoffman  3 , Scott D Weingart  4 , Don Weiss  2
Affiliations
Case Reports

Delayed recognition of fatal invasive meningococcal disease in adults

Frederick W Nagel et al. JMM Case Rep. .

Abstract

Introduction: 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.

Case presentation: 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.

Conclusion: 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.

Keywords: Meningococcal Infections/complications; Meningococcal Infections/prevention & control; Neisseria meningitidis; New York City/epidemiology; Risk Factors; United States/epidemiol.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Barnett B., Nunberg S., Tai J., Lesser M., Fridman V., Nichols P., Powell R., Silverman R.(2011). Oral and tympanic membrane temperatures are inaccurate to identify fever in emergency department adults. West J Emerg Med 12505–511.10.5811/westjem.2011.2.1963 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Berger T., Green J., Horeczko T., Hagar Y., Garg N., Suarez A., Panacek E., Shapiro N.(2013). Shock index and early recognition of sepsis in the emergency department: pilot study. West J Emerg Med 14168–174.10.5811/westjem.2012.8.11546 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Brown M. J., Brown D. C., Murphy M. B.(1983). Hypokalemia from beta2-receptor stimulation by circulating epinephrine. N Engl J Med 3091414–1419.10.1056/NEJM198312083092303 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention(2015). Summary of notifiable diseases - United States, 2013. Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 621–119 .10.15585/mmwr.mm6253a1 - DOI
    1. Croskerry P.(2002). Achieving quality in clinical decision making: cognitive strategies and detection of bias. Acad Emerg Med 91184–1204.10.1111/j.1553-2712.2002.tb01574.x - DOI - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources