Document Detail


Meningococcal disease deaths and the frequency of antibiotic administration delays.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  17147958     Owner:  NLM     Status:  MEDLINE    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
OBJECTIVE: Meningococcal disease (MCD) remains a medical emergency and a frequent cause of death in previously healthy individuals. We aimed to determine the frequency and cause of delays in antibiotic administration in a cohort of deaths. METHODS: A retrospective chart review was undertaken on 140 hospitalised MCD deaths within New Zealand's serogroup B epidemic (1993-2004). RESULTS: Death after hospital presentation occurred rapidly (median 12 h) with 70% dying within 24 h. Delays of more than 2 h in time-to-antibiotic post hospital presentation occurred in 29%. The major contributors to these delays were the failure to include MCD within the differential diagnosis and prolonged assessment times. Multivariate logistic regression analysis, undertaken by combining study deaths which had meningococcal bacterial load results (n=9) with a survivor cohort (n=126) from a previous study, confirmed bacterial load as a major predictor of death (OR 7.5 per log10 cfu/mL increase; 95% CI 2.2-25.3; p=0.001). A non-significant increased risk of death per hour of antibiotic delay was seen (OR 1.18; 95% CI 0.90-1.55; p=0.22). CONCLUSIONS: Death from MCD occurred rapidly, with many patients not receiving antibiotics at the earliest opportunity. The introduction of recently developed rapid diagnostic markers into the identified delay-intervals could lead to a reduction in time-to-antibiotic and hopefully reduce case-fatality rates.
Authors:
Hamish M Lala; Graham D Mills; Kevin Barratt; John Bonning; Noel E Manikkam; Diana Martin
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Publication Detail:
Type:  Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't     Date:  2006-12-04
Journal Detail:
Title:  The Journal of infection     Volume:  54     ISSN:  1532-2742     ISO Abbreviation:  J. Infect.     Publication Date:  2007 Jun 
Date Detail:
Created Date:  2007-05-21     Completed Date:  2007-05-31     Revised Date:  2007-12-14    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  7908424     Medline TA:  J Infect     Country:  England    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  551-7     Citation Subset:  IM    
Affiliation:
Auckland School of Medicine, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.
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MeSH Terms
Descriptor/Qualifier:
Adolescent
Adult
Anti-Bacterial Agents / therapeutic use*
Child
Child, Preschool
Cohort Studies
DNA, Bacterial / isolation & purification
Female
Humans
Infant
Male
Medical Audit
Meningococcal Infections / drug therapy*,  microbiology,  mortality*
Neisseria meningitidis / genetics,  isolation & purification
Polymerase Chain Reaction
Retrospective Studies
Chemical
Reg. No./Substance:
0/Anti-Bacterial Agents; 0/DNA, Bacterial

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine


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