Prehospital Antibiotic Therapy and Mortality in Invasive Meningococcal Disease

In a propensity score–adjusted cohort study, prehospital antibiotic therapy showed only a nonsignificant trend for lower mortality.

Invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) is a devastating infection with high mortality. Early diagnosis and aggressive treatment are key elements in the management of patients with this disease and are thought to improve survival. Prehospital antibiotic therapy (PHAT) for IMD is recommended by a recent U.K. guideline, but data on its effect on mortality have been conflicting so far. To provide more information, researchers conducted a retrospective single-center cohort study in Spain involving 527 patients with IMD treated between 1977 and 2013, of whom 57 (11%) had sepsis and 470 (89%) had meningitis with or without sepsis. Sixty-one percent of these patients were female; median age was 19 years.

Overall mortality was 6%: 5% in patients with m…

Reviewing Author

Thomas Glück, MD

Disclosures

Editorial BoardsConsilium Infectiorum by InfectoPharm, Infection

Thomas Glück, MD

Disclosures

Editorial BoardsConsilium Infectiorum by InfectoPharm, Infection

Prehospital Antibiotic Therapy and Mortality in Invasive Meningococcal Disease

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Reviewing Author