SUMMARY 114 patients with meningococcal infection were studied; 72 had group C infection and 42 group A infection. 14 patients had acute meningococcaemia, all of whom had group C infection and 9 of whom died. Clinical and laboratory findings were similar in patients with meningitis due to group A and C organisms, but arthritis and cutaneous vasculitis were more common in patients with group C infection. The overall mortality was 22% in patients with group C infection, and 12 % in patients with group A infection, but was the same in both groups when cases of acute meningococcaemia are excluded.
SUMMARY Circulating immune complexes have been detected in the sera of 24 Nigerian children with acute poststreptococcal glomerulonephritis using two methods. There was a significant correlation between levels of soluble complexes, detected in samples taken from patients in the oliguric phase of acute nephritis, and severity of disease, as judged by blood urea levels. Serial estimation of immune complexes was more useful than serial C3 estimation in predicting the onset of anuria in two patients admitted with mild disease who subsequently deteriorated. With one exception. C4 values were normal. Factor B levels were low in 90 % of cases, in keeping with activation of the alternate complement pathway.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.