Primary meningococcal arthritis

Neisseria meningitidis serogroup C causing primary polyarthritis in an octogenarian

A man in his 80s presented to the hospital with a 36-hour history of fever, myalgia, bilateral shoulder and right knee pain. Joint fluid aspirates from his shoulders and right knee isolated Gram-negative diplococci. After failing to grow on standard and selective media, Neisseria meningitidis was identified by 16s PCR and subsequently typed as serogroup C. He had no clinical features of meningitis or meningococcaemia. Blood cultures were negative and an EDTA blood sample was negative for meningococcal ctrA gene. Urine PCR was negative for Neisseria gonorrhoeae He was treated successfully with two arthroscopic joint washouts of his right knee, aspirates of both shoulders, 40 days of intravenous ceftriaxone and intensive physiotherapy as both an inpatient and outpatient. In the literature, we have not found any previously documented cases of serogroup C meningococcus causing polyarticular primary septic arthritis in this age group or guidance on duration of antibiotic treatment. Literature on the impact of rehabilitation to baseline function was also found to be lacking. Although rare, primary meningococcal arthritis (PMA) should be considered as a differential diagnosis in cases of acute polyarticular septic arthritis. Polyarticular PMA in older adults may require prolonged rehabilitation before one might expect to return to premorbid function.

Meningococcal arthritis and myopericarditis: a case report

Background

We report the first adult case of Neisseria meningitidis W-135 presenting with meningococcal arthritis and myopericarditis concomitantly, without other classical features of meningococcal disease.

Case presentation

A 67-year-old Caucasian man presented with acute-onset polyarthralgia, myalgia, and fever. On examination he had polyarticular synovitis. An electrocardiogram (ECG) demonstrated ST-elevation in leads I, II, III, aVF, and V2-V6 without reciprocal depression, and a high-sensitivity troponin level was significantly elevated. Cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging on day five of admission demonstrated patchy pericardial enhancement. Neisseria meningitidis W-135 was isolated from both synovial fluid and blood cultures. The clinical outcome was favourable with intravenous ceftriaxone and myopericarditis treatment (colchicine and ibuprofen).

Conclusions

We conclude that this is a rare case of disseminated Neisseria meningitidis W-135 presenting with acute polyarticular septic arthritis and myopericarditis, without other classical features of systemic meningococcal disease. The earlier described entity of primary meningococcal arthritis (PMA) can present in patients with meningococcal bacteraemia, and may not be distinct from disseminated meningococcal disease, but rather an atypical presentation of this.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1186/s12879-017-2845-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Acute polyarthritis in a young patient caused by meningococcal and parvovirus B19 infections: a case report and review of the literature

Background

Meningococcal infection is a multifaceted disease including acute polyarthritis. This presentation should be known by clinicians in order to prevent delay in treatment. We report what we believe to be the first case of an association of parvovirus B19 and meningococcal polyarthritis in a young adult.

Case presentation

A 19-year-old Caucasian woman presented to our hospital with fever, intense leg pain, and a transient rash. A physical examination showed asymmetric polyarthritis and no neurological abnormalities. A parvovirus B19 polymerase chain reaction performed using a blood sample and knee fluid aspirate came back positive, but serology was negative for immunoglobulin M and positive for immunoglobulin G. A blood culture was positive for serotype C meningococcus; a polymerase chain reaction performed for Neisseria meningitidis was positive in joint fluid but negative in blood samples (performed after antibiotic treatment had begun). Our patient was treated with ceftriaxone for 15 days, associated with analgesic therapy. Hydroxychloroquine treatment was introduced 5 months after the onset of polyarthritis because of persisting inflammatory arthralgia.

Conclusions

To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case report of polyarthritis caused by concomitant meningococcal and parvovirus B19 infections. This unusual presentation of meningococcal disease may have resulted from the persistent parvovirus B19 infection. Our experience with this case illustrates the need for a systematic approach to the diagnosis of febrile acute polyarthritis. Only long-term follow-up will reveal if this infectious polyarthritis will evolve towards an autoimmune rheumatism.

Neisseria meningitidis Serogroup C Causing Primary Arthritis in a Child: Case Report

INTRODUCTION

Neisseria meningitidis (N. meningitidis) is associated with severe invasive infections such as meningitis and fulminant septicemia. Septic arthritis due to N. meningitidis is rare and bone infections have been reported exceptionally. We report the case of a 1-year old girl who presented with a painful, swollen right knee, accompanied by fever and agitation. Arthrocentesis of the right knee, while patient was under anesthesia, yielded grossly purulent fluid, so we made arthrotomy and drainage. The culture from synovial fluid revealed N. meningitidis, sensitive to Ceftriaxone. The patient received intravenous antibiotherapy with Ceftriaxone. The status of the patient improved after surgical drainage and intravenous antibiotic therapy. She recovered completely after 1 month.

CONCLUSION

This observation illustrates an unusual presentation of invasive meningococcal infection and the early identification of the bacteria, combined with the correct treatment, prevent the complications and even death.

Primary meningococcal arthritis requiring surgical drainage

Primary meningococcal arthritis (PMA) is a relatively rare diagnosis where the role of early surgical intervention for its treatment is not well defined. We report a case of PMA in a young otherwise healthy patient who developed polyarticular joint pain secondary to Niessieria meningitidis without systemic symptoms of meningitis or meningococcemia. He underwent a prolonged course of intravenous antibiotics and serial aspirations of his shoulder. However, symptoms in his shoulder did not improve and he later underwent surgical irrigation and debridement.Intraoperatively, the patient had no signs of articular damage to his right shoulder despite prolonged clinically symptomatic disease. Six weeks after surgery, he has regained normal strength and full range of motion without any deficits.Nonoperative management of PMA is frequently, but not invariably, successful. We report a patient with this diagnosis who ultimately needed surgical evacuation of his shoulder joint to achieve resolution of his symptoms.

Infection and immune-mediated meningococcal-associated arthritis: combination features in the same patient

We present a case of a 16-year-old male patient with sudden-onset, rash, arthritis and meningitis by Neisseria meningitidis one week after an acute upper respiratory infection. On the 10th day of treatment followed by neurological and arthritis clinical improvement, he presented once again a tender and swollen left knee with a moderate effusion, and active and passive range of motion was severely limited secondary to pain, and when he was submitted to surgical drainage and synovial fluid analysis he showed inflammatory characteristics. A non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug was taken for five days with complete improvement of symptoms. The case is notable for its combination of features of septic and immune-mediated arthritis, which has rarely been reported in the same patient.

Primary meningococcal arthritis in a child: Case report and literature review

We present a case of primary meningococcal arthritis in an 8-month-old immunocompetent female. We also review 18 additional paediatric cases and characterize this unique form of meningococcal disease.

[Septic arthritis due to meningococcus. Report an atypical case presentation]

We have observed the case of a 73-years-old man with a septic monoarthritis affecting the left knee due to Neisseria meningitidis serogroup B, without previous traumatism, fever, headache or meningeal symptoms. The patient didńt present risk factors of meningococcal infection. The infection was resolved satisfactorily with parenteral ceftriaxone during 2 weeks and oral ciprofloxacin during 1 month.

Isolated polyarticular septic arthritis: an atypical presentation of meningococcal infection

We are presenting a case of a 19-year-old college student with sudden-onset, asymmetric polyarticular arthritis with Neisseria meningitidis 10 days after an acute upper respiratory infection consisting of fevers, chills, pharyngitis, and productive cough. Primary meningococcal septic arthritis is a rare entity. A majority of these cases present in a monoarticular fashion. The synovial fluid findings, although compatible with inflammatory arthritis, are not typical of septic arthritis. This entity, although rare, should be considered in the differential diagnosis of septic arthritis of large joints, especially since N. meningitiditis does not grow well on routine culture media. A literature review on the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of primary meningococcal septic arthritis is presented.

Arthritis in adults with community-acquired bacterial meningitis: a prospective cohort study

BACKGROUND

Although the coexistence of bacterial meningitis and arthritis has been noted in several studies, it remains unclear how often both conditions occur simultaneously.

METHODS

We evaluated the presence of arthritis in a prospective nationwide cohort of 696 episodes of community-acquired bacterial meningitis, confirmed by culture of cerebrospinal fluid, which occurred in patients aged >16 years. The diagnosis of arthritis was based upon the judgment of the treating physician. To identify differences between groups Fisher exact statistics and the Mann-Whitney U test were used.

RESULTS

Arthritis was recorded in 48 of 696 (7%) episodes of community-acquired bacterial meningitis in adults. Joint-fluid aspirations were performed in 23 of 48 patients (48%) and joint-fluid cultures yielded bacteria in 6 of 23 patients (26%). Arthritis occurred most frequently in patients with meningococcal meningitis (12%). Of the 48 patients with bacterial meningitis and coexisting arthritis, four died (8%) and 10 (23%) had residual joint symptoms.

CONCLUSION

Arthritis is a common manifestation in patients with community-acquired bacterial meningitis. Functional outcome of arthritis in bacterial meningitis is generally good because meningococcal arthritis is usually immune-mediated, and pneumococcal arthritis is generally less deforming than staphylococcal arthritis. Nevertheless, additional therapeutic measures should be considered if clinical course is complicated by arthritis. In patients with infectious arthritis prolonged antibiotic therapy is mandatory.

Primary meningococcal arthritis of the hip in an immunocompetent adolescent

The clinical spectrum of meningococcal infection ranges from asymptomatic carriage to fulminant sepsis, with meningitis and septicemia being well-recognized clinical presentations. Meningococcal arthritis as a complication of Neisseria meningitidis infection occurs in about 2-10% of cases, whereas primary meningococcal arthritis (PMA) is a relatively rare phenomenon, even in children. We report here a case of meningococcal infection in an immunocompetent adolescent suffering from acute pain of the right hip as the only symptom upon presentation at the hospital. In such a situation, meningococci are not usually considered as a possible causative agent.