Tuesday, March 21, 2006

Two on Meningococcal Infection

Unbounded Medicine: Purpura fulminans as severe complication of meningococcal infection
The clinical picture is as follows: acute onset of cutaneous hemorrhage and necrosis secondary to vascular thrombosis and disseminated intravascular coagulation. Often there is pain followed by petechiae. Ecchymoses develop and evolve into painful indurated, well-demarcated purple papules with erythematous borders (as you can see in the image this lesions are coalescent). Then this lesions progress to necrosis with formation of bullae and vesicles. Gangrenous necrosis can follow with extension into the subcutaneous tissue and occasionally involves muscle and bone.
'You're Very Ill' Takes a Sudden Turn to 'You're Very Lucky' - From The New York Times
Only two people in all of New York were officially known to have contracted chronic meningococcemia that winter, she told me when I was done chuckling. "Lucky me!" I responded.

Then a question occurred to me. "How's the other person?"

"The other person," she said after a brief silence, "did not do as well."
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