Abstract

Background: Invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) is an unpredictable and severe infection caused by Neisseria meningitidis. Its case fatality rate could vary from 9.7% to 26% and up to 36% of survivors may experience long-term sequelae, representing a challenge for public health. Aimed: To describe the sequelae at hospital discharge caused by IMD in children between years 2009-2019. Methods: Cross-sectional study performed in 2 pediatric hospitals. Patients with microbiologically confirmed diagnosis of IMD from 2009 to 2019 were included. Bivariate and logistic regression analysis were performed. Results: The records of 61 patients were reviewed and included. Sixty-seven percent were male, median age 9 months (interquartile range 4-27), 72% were admitted to intensive care unit. Thirty-seven (60.5%) had at least 1 sequela (75% and 37% in patients with or without meningitis, respectively). The most frequents sequelae were neurological 72%, hearing loss 32%, and osteoarticular 24%. Significant differences were found comparing patients with and without sequelae: drowsiness 67.6% versus 41.7% (P = 0.04), irritability 67.6% versus 25% (P = 0.01), meningeal signs 62.2% versus 29.2% (P = 0.01). In logistic regression analysis, postdischarge follow-up had OR 21.25 (95% confidence intervals [CI]: 4.93-91.44), irritability had OR 8.53 (95% CI: 1.64-44.12), meningeal signs had OR 8.21 (95% CI: 0.71-94.05), invasive mechanical ventilation had OR 8.23 (95% CI: 0.78-85.95), meningitis plus meningococcemia OR 1.70 (95% CI: 0.18-15.67) to have sequelae, while children with meningococcemia and vomiting had a OR 0.04 (95% CI: 0.00-0.36) and OR 0.27 (95% CI: 0.03-2.14), respectively. N. meningitidis serogroup W (MenW) was isolated in 54.1% (33/61), and N. meningitidis serogroup B (MenB) in 31.1% (19/61) of cases. A significant difference was found in osteoarticular sequelae (P = 0.05) between MenB and MenW. There was a decrease in cases after the meningococcal conjugate vaccine against serogroups A, C, W and Y was implemented (2015-2019). Conclusions: IMD remains as a public health concern. A high rate of sequelae was found in pediatric patients in our series, even in the clinical manifestations other than meningitis. Neurological sequelae were the most prevalent. Multidisciplinary follow-up protocols to reduce long-term impact must be urgently established to assess all children with IMD