Professional paper
Epidemiological and clinical characteristics of patients with invasive meningococcal disease hospitalized at the University Hospital for Infectious Diseases "Dr. Fran Mihaljevic", Zagreb
Elvira Čeljuska-Tošev
; Klinika za infektivne bolesti "Dr. Fran Mihaljević", Zagreb, Hrvatska
Suzana Bukovski-Simonoski
; Klinika za infektivne bolesti "Dr. Fran Mihaljević", Zagreb, Hrvatska
Marija Gužvinec
; Klinika za infektivne bolesti "Dr. Fran Mihaljević", Zagreb, Hrvatska
Ivica Knezović
; Klinika za infektivne bolesti "Dr. Fran Mihaljević", Zagreb, Hrvatska
Abstract
We retrospectively analyzed epidemiological and clinical characteristics of invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) in 108 hospitalized patients in the period of five years, from 2003 to 2007. On average, 22 patients with meningococcal disease were treated per year. IMD was the commonest in infants and small children, and in school age children. Altogether 73 % of all patients were children up to 15 years of age (mean age 2,8 years) while the remaining 27% were older patients. The total mortality rate among our patients was 4,6% (3,7% among children up to 15 years of age, and 6,8% in older patients). The disease clinically presented as meningitis in 14 (13%), as sepsis in 28 (26%) or sepsis with meningitis in 66 (61%) patients. Etiological diagnosis from primarily negative samples (blood and/or cerebrospinal fluid) proved positive in all patients. N.meningitidis was confirmed by cultivation in 32%, and by PCR method in 74% of cases. In etiologically confirmed cases, the most common serogroup of N.meningitidis was serogroup B (83%), followed by serogroup C (12%) and serogroup W135 (1,8%), while in 2,7% of patients a non-groupable strain was isolated. All patients were sporadic cases. In the period from 2003 to 2007, N.meningitidis with reduced susceptibility to penicillin was detected in 7 isolates, all of them belonging to serogroup B. Along with currently available vaccine against meningococcus (A, C, Y, W 135), continuous efforts are undertaken worldwide to develop an efficient vaccine against N. meningitidis serogroup B, that would, we hope, contribute in reducing the incidence of this severe and potentially fatal disease.
Keywords
invasive meningococcal disease; sepsis; meningitis
Hrčak ID:
50607
URI
Publication date:
12.9.2009.
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