The Treatment of Acute Meningococcal Infection in Adults
Authors: Stuart Levin, M. B. Painter
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (1966)

Article1 May 1966The Treatment of Acute Meningococcal Infection in AdultsA ReappraisalSTUART LEVIN, M. B. PAINTERSTUART LEVINSearch for more papers by this author, M. B. PAINTERSearch for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-64-5-1049 SectionsAboutPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail ExcerptAcute meningococcal disease has long been recognized as a recurrent problem in closed populations and in the pediatric age group. The sulfonamides have generally been considered the drugs of choice, both for prophylaxis and therapy of this disease (1-5). Penicillin has been used therapeutically in combination with sulfonamides but has not received any recent extensive controlled clinical trial as the sole antibacterial agent in treatment of severe meningococcal disease in adults.Meningococcal disease has shown a cyclic increase in frequency at roughly 10-year intervals during this century (2, 6), and this organism was a major cause of military deaths due...References1. QUAADEKRISTENSEN FKP: Purulent meningitis. A review of 658 cases. Acta. Med. Scand. 171: 543, 1962. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar2. CHEEVER FS: The meningococci, in Bacterial and Mycotic Infections of Man, 4th ed., edited by DUBOS, R. J., HIRSCH J. G. J. B. Lippincott Co., Philadelphia, 1965, p. 440. Google Scholar3. EIGLERWELLMANROOKEKEITHSVIEN JOWEEDHMHJ: Bacterial meningitis. I. General review (294 cases). Mayo Clin. Proc. 36: 357, 1961. MedlineGoogle Scholar4. CARPENTERPETERSDORF RRRG: The clinical spectrum of bacterial meningitis. Amer. J. Med. 33: 262, 1962. 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