Neonatal meningococcal disease: an update.

Purpose of the review: Neisseria meningitidis is a common cause of sepsis in the pediatric population but is only rarely observed in neonates. The true incidence of the disease in that age group remains undefined. The purpose of this review is to summarize the published data on meningococcal disease in the neonatal period.Materials and methods: All published studies reporting data on neonatal meningococcal disease were included for data extraction.

Results

Published cases from around the world show that, while rare, neonatal meningococcal disease is characterized by a high mortality rate and serious neurodevelopmental complications. The initial clinical presentation is atypical and there is a rapid clinical deterioration. Predisposing factors have been described and they include immune deficiencies and maternal genitourinary tract colonization by the pathogen. Transmission can be intrauterine, intrapartum or postpartum. Intrapartum transmission has been linked to conjunctivitis, which serves as a point of entry for the pathogen.

Conclusions

Neonatal meningococcal disease remains a rare but potentially fatal disease, whose true incidence is not known. Genitourinary colonization of the mother and nasopharyngeal carriage of both parents should be assessed, especially in early onset cases. N. meningitidis should be suspected in cases of neonatal sepsis and seizures, even in the absence of typical symptoms associated with meningococcemia. A high level of clinical suspicion and quick initiation of therapy are needed to improve the clinical outcome, and patients who survive require long term follow-up to detect possible neurodevelopmental sequelae. Transmission can be intrauterine, intrapartum or postpartum. Intrapartum transmission has been linked to conjunctivitis, which serves as a point of entry for the pathogen. Published case reports from around the world show that, while rare, neonatal meningococcal disease is characterized by a high mortality rate and serious neurodevelopmental complications. The initial clinical presentation is atypical and there is a rapid clinical deterioration within less than 12 h. The objective of this review is to summarize the latest literature on N. meningitidis infections in the neonatal period.