The advent of new investigations for the detection of invasive meningococcal disease may lead to the diagnosis of milder forms of the infection which would previously have remained undiagnosed. In the context of mild disease there may be difficulty interpreting current guidelines and subsequently formulating an appropriate management and public health plan. This case study demonstrates the issu...

Hunter, J. (1973). Archives of Disease in Childhood, 48, 233. Heparin therapy in meningococcal septicaemia. Two cases of meningococcaemia with bad prognostic signs are presented. In one child a state of disseminated intravascular coagulation and defibrinogenation was established. Heparin therapy was used early and successfully in both cases, supporting the value of early anticoagulation in the ...

The efficacy of gelatin for the recovery of Neisseria meningitidis from blood cultures was evaluated in a clinical setting. The organism was isolated from seven patients with meningococcal infections in blood culture media containing 1% gelatin. In contrast, only two blood cultures from these patients were positive in media without gelatin (P less than 0.05). Gelatin did not influence the recov...