Steroid-responsive vasculitis and arthritis in meningococcal septicaemia.

Introduction Meningococcal infection may present as meningitis or as acute-fulminating, subacute or chronic sepicaemia. There may be associated arthritis, vasculitis, episcleritis and intravascular coagulation (Whittle et al., 1973). Such complications which usually occur between 3 and 10 days from the onset of the illness, when patients are otherwise improving, have been attributed to immune complex deposition (Greenwood, Whittle and Bryceson, 1973). The authors report a case of severe meningococcal septicaemia in which these complications responded rapidly to corticosteroids.