A Sporadic Case of Fulminant Meningococcemia.
- Author:
Jin Soo LEE
1
;
Hee Jin CHEONG
;
Heung Jeong WOO
;
Woo Joo KIM
;
Min Ja KIM
;
Seung Chul PARK
Author Information
1. Department of Internal Medicine, Korea University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
- Publication Type:Case Report
- Keywords:
Meningococcemia;
Sporadic;
Fulminant
- MeSH:
Ceftriaxone;
Chloramphenicol;
Female;
Fever;
Gangrene;
Humans;
Korea;
Lower Extremity;
Military Personnel;
Neisseria meningitidis;
Purpura;
Schools, Nursing;
Shock;
Young Adult
- From:Korean Journal of Infectious Diseases
1998;30(1):101-105
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:Korean
-
Abstract:
Meningococcal disease is still a major cause of sporadic endemic and epidemic diseases throughout the world. In Korea meningococcal epidemics have been documented occasionally in military recruits, where as sporadic cases rarely reported. Meningococcemia represents a part of the various spectrum of the illness, and its clinical manifestations varied from mild fever to fulminant catastrophic events within a few hours after onset of symptoms. We experienced a case of a sporadic fulminant meningococcemia presenting with fever, petechiae, and purpura. The patient was a 21-year old female nursing school student. She had high fever, petechiae and purpura on both lower extremities, which spreaded to the whole body with peripheral gangrene during her admission days. Despite the treatment with ceftriaxone and chloramphenicol, refractory shock developed. She expired on the third day after onset of symptoms. Neisseria meningitidis was cultured from the blood after she died.
