PROGNOSTIC FACTORS IN MENINGOCOCCAL DISEASE AND A NEW SCORING SYSTEM

One-hundred-and-forty patients diagnosed as having meningococcal disea se have been investigated retrospectively with respect to prognostic f actors. The overall mortality was 8.6%, the mortality rate of the infa nts under 6 months of age being higher than that of the other groups. In cases where there was no meningitis or leucocytosis, the presence o f hypotension, disturbed consciousness and diffuse petechiae increased the mortality rate significantly. High fever did not have any effect on mortality. We propose a new practical and reliable scoring system f or meningococcal disease for determining the influence of prognostic f actors on mortality.