Diagnosis and stage-related treatment of disseminated intravascular coagulation in meningococcal infections

Disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) is a frequent complication of meningococcal sepis in children. Despite the availibility of potent antibiotics, mortality in meningococcal disease remains high (about 10%), rising to 40% in patients presenting in severe shock and consecutive DIG. As the clinical course and the severity of manifestations of systemic meningococcal infections varies there is a need for early diagnosis of the infection and of the stage of coagulopathy in order to reduce the high mortality rate. Few and rapidly available parameters are needed to classify the wide spectrum of clinical and laboratory findings in patients with DIG. The parameters include partial thromboplastin time, prothrombin time, plasma levels of fibrinogen, antithrombin III (A T III), fibrin monomers and D-dimer concentration, fibrin degradation products and the thrombocyte count. Monitoring the course of hemostasis findings in 28 pediatric patients (age between 3 months and 8 years, mean 3.1 years) with systemic meningococcal infections we observed a change of coagulation parameters already in the first stages of the infection: A prolongation of partial thromboplastin time mean 69.1 sec (range 22-150 sec, normal 30-45 sec), a decrease of prothrombin time to 45.7% (range 13-71%, normal 70-100%) and of AT III to an average level of 70% (normal 85-125%) was found 1 to 4 (-6) hours after admission. The following deterioration of prothrombin time and partial thromboplastin time turned out to be statistically significant (p < 0.05, signed rank test). The monitoring of hemostasis parameters mentioned above made it to possible define the stage of coagulopathy and thus to start a stage related therapy. Treatment consisted of shock control by liquid substitution, compensation of metabolic acidosis, correction of clotting disorders (AT III and heparin in case of pre-DIG; AT III and fresh frozen plasma in case of advanced DIG), antibiotic treatment (beta-lactam antibotics e.g, cefotaxime or ceftriaxone), and - when necessary - catecholamine infusions. An early assessment of the coagulation disorders in meningococcal disease can be based on few coagulation parameters. Thus an appropriate treatment can be arranged in order to prevent a fatal outcome of meningococcal sepis and to protect against the development of a Waterhouse-Friderichsen-syndrome.