Incidence Of Invasive Meningococcal Disease Higher In Preterm Infants Compared To Term Infants, Study Finds

Infectious Disease Advisor (6/4, Barowski) reports, “The incidence of invasive meningococcal disease is higher in preterm infants compared with infants born at term, according to study results published in Open Forum Infectious Diseases.” In the study, “there were no significant differences in demographics, clinical presentation, and rates of intensive care admission or case fatality observed between preterm and term infants. However, the percentage of infants who survived the infection and had at least 1 documented sequela was significantly higher among those in the preterm group (35.9% vs 19.0%; P =.02).”