Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/7139
Title: Invasive meningococcal disease - improving management through structured review of cases in the Hunter New England area, Australia
Contributor(s): Guimont, Chantal (author); Hullick, Carolyn (author); Durrheim, David (author); Ryan, Nick (author); Ferguson, John (author); Massey, Peter Dennis  (author)
Publication Date: 2010
DOI: 10.1093/pubmed/fdp075
Handle Link: https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/7139
Abstract: Introduction: Invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) is the most common infectious cause of death in childhood in developed countries. This disease may cause severe disability or death if a patient is sub-optimally managed. An audit was performed in Australia of all 2005–06 notified IMD cases to elicit correctable issues. Methods: Over the 2 year period, 24 cases were notified in the Hunter New England Health area. These cases were reviewed by an expert panel to highlight key correctable issues in recognition and management of IMD. Results: The 24 patients were aged between 1 month and 70 years. Thirteen (54%) were children and 14 (58%) were women. Six (25%) cases developed complications, two being severe (one death, one limb amputations). These patients had risk factors for IMD. The emergency department average delay between assessment and administration of antibiotics was 57.8 min. Conclusion: There were avoidable factors identified in both patients with a poor outcome. Length of delay in initiating antibiotic therapy has been associated with poor outcome, thus the delay in our series is of concern. The audit highlighted many potentially correctable issues in the medical, laboratory and public health management of IMD cases.
Publication Type: Journal Article
Source of Publication: Journal of Public Health, 32(1), p. 38-43
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Place of Publication: United Kingdom
ISSN: 1741-3850
1741-3842
Fields of Research (FoR) 2008: 111716 Preventive Medicine
Socio-Economic Objective (SEO) 2008: 920109 Infectious Diseases
Peer Reviewed: Yes
HERDC Category Description: C1 Refereed Article in a Scholarly Journal
Appears in Collections:Journal Article

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