[Clinical features of meningococcal infection in subjects with deficient terminal components of complement].
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate clinical characteristics of meningococcal disease (MD) in individuals with terminal complement component deficiency (TCCD) who are thousands times more susceptible to MD than complement-sufficient persons.


METHODS
61 cases of MD in TCCD patients and 200 randomly selected cases of MD in complement-sufficient patients were analyzed.


RESULTS
Meningitis without meningococcemia accounted for 17% of the MD episodes in the control group of complement-sufficient patients but none in individuals with TCCD who had meningococcemia (10%) or meningococcemia with meningitis (90%). Moderate disease predominated in patients with TCCD (70%) and no episodes of fatal disease were noted, whereas severe disease was more common in the control group which had an 8% case fatality rate and frequent complications such as endotoxic shock (15% of episodes) and brain edema (26%). The severity of the disease in TCCD patients did not differ between the first and subsequent episodes, between males and females, between episodes caused by serogroup A and B meningococci, etc.


CONCLUSIONS
In comparison to complement-sufficient persons, the course of the disease in patients with TCCD is statistically less severe.
Platonov
A E
AE
Beloborodov
V B
VB
Vershinina
I V
IV
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015938:Complement Membrane Attack Complex / Q000172:deficiency*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008589:Meningococcal Infections / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012426:Russia / Q000453:epidemiology; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D015996:Survival Rate
D015938:Complement Membrane Attack Complex