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Chronic meningococcal disease
Author(s) -
Jennens Ian D.,
O'Reilly Mary,
Yung Allen P.
Publication year - 1990
Publication title -
medical journal of australia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.904
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1326-5377
pISSN - 0025-729X
DOI - 10.5694/j.1326-5377.1990.tb126200.x
Subject(s) - medicine , rash , vasculitis , dermatology , empirical treatment , differential diagnosis , arthritis , neisseria meningitidis , disease , immunology , penicillin , meningococcal disease , rheumatoid arthritis , pathology , antibiotics , microbiology and biotechnology , genetics , bacteria , biology
Chronic meningococcal septicaemia is an unusual and infrequently recognised presentation of disease caused by Nefsserfa meningitidis. Clinical features are immunologically mediated and include fever, rash and arthritis, which may mimic cutaneous vasculitis or reactive gonococcal arthritis. Diagnosis is difficult to confirm as blood cultures commonly do not grow the organism despite weeks of symptoms. Culture of the organism from the nasopharynx may provide supportive evidence for diagnosis. Chronic meningococ‐ caemia should be considered in the differential diagnosis of a cutaneous vasculitis. In the clinical setting of an undiagnosed fever with vasculitic rash and joint symptoms an empirical trial of intravenously administered penicillin should be considered before steroid therapy as a rapid response may simplify the diagnostic dilemma.