Understanding the process and treatment of meningitis and meningococcal disease
Abstract
Meningococcal septicaemia is a potentially life-threatening disease process which requires early recognition and rapid management in both pre-hospital and hospital phases of patient care. It is estimated that there are around 3 500 confirmed cases annually in the United Kingdom and, as such, widespread campaigns and national guidelines have been developed and adopted throughout NHS trusts. Standard treatment protocols have been developed and adopted to manage patients appropriately; however, other emerging treatment options are becoming more widely acknowledged, but require further investigation before recommendations can be made. It is vitally important that clinicians in patient-facing roles who are likely to come into contact with meningococcal-related diseases adopt a high index of suspicion, basing diagnosis on history, physical examination and clinical investigations. Rapid intervention should be undertaken for any patient where the disease process is suspected.
It is estimated that there are around 3 500 confirmed cases of bacterial meningitis and septicaemia in the UK per annum (Joint Royal Colleges Ambulance Liaison Committee (JRCALC) and Meningitis Research Foundation (MRF), 2008). Meningococcal diseases can have profound long-term debilitating effects and high mortality rates, especially in young children and adolescents; therefore, it is vitally important that menigococcal diseases are recognised as early as possible, with rapid intervention. In recent years, there have been a number of widespread media campaigns emphasising the early recognition of meningococcal disease, together with published guidelines for the management of the disease in both pre-hospital and hospital settings.
This article will focus on the pathophsyiology and aetiology of the identified disease process, potential complications, together with the pre-hospital and hospital-based management. A number of sources of evidence have been identified, which relate to the pathological processes occurring in disease, some of which are more dated than others. However, despite this, these sources provide relevant theory that is widely acknowledged and accepted, and has seen little change throughout recent years.
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