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Pre-admission clinical course of meningococcal disease and opportunities for the earlier start of appropriate intervention: a prospective epidemiological study on 752 patients in the Netherlands, 2003–2005

European Journal of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

To improve the timeliness of health care delivery to patients with meningococcal disease, the early disease evolution and clinical manifestation at admission were studied in all 752 patients with invasive meningococcal disease in the Netherlands in 2003–2005. Eighty-eight percent (88%) had serogroup B disease. The case fatality rate (CFR) was 6.7% overall, but reached 16% among adults over 50 years of age. The CFR was similar for serogroups B (6.3%) and C (5.2%). Admission followed 17 h (median) after the onset of symptoms. The CFR in patients admitted within 12 h, 12–18 h, 18–36 h or >36 h after the first symptoms was 10.2, 7.8, 3.5 and 2.2%, respectively. Only 60% of patients had skin lesions, and admission followed 2 h (median) later. Earlier recognition can be achieved when non-petechial clues are included in the diagnosis. A short duration of disease before admission is a simple tool in the recognition of patients with severe disease.

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Acknowledgements

We thank all of the involved physicians and Public Health Services staff concerned with infectious diseases in the Netherlands for collecting and documenting the data requested in the enhanced surveillance questionnaire.

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Correspondence to S. C. de Greeff.

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Declaration of interest: none.

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de Greeff, S.C., de Melker, H.E., Schouls, L.M. et al. Pre-admission clinical course of meningococcal disease and opportunities for the earlier start of appropriate intervention: a prospective epidemiological study on 752 patients in the Netherlands, 2003–2005. Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis 27, 985–992 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10096-008-0535-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10096-008-0535-1

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