Clinical diagnoses and outcomes of 4619 hospitalised cases of laboratory-confirmed invasive meningococcal disease in England: Linkage analysis of multiple national databases

BACKGROUND: Invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) is rare but remains one of the most feared infectious diseases worldwide. We linked multiple national datasets to describe disease characteristics and outcomes of IMD in England over a five-year period. METHODS: IMD cases confirmed by Public Health England (2007-11) were linked with national hospitalisation records and death registrations. Cases were analysed by age, gender, capsular group, clinical presentation, diagnostic test and outcome. Risk factors for death were assessed using multivariable logistic regression. RESULTS: Overall, 4619 of 5115 (90.30%) laboratory-confirmed IMD cases were successfully linked to a hospitalisation record. Group B meningococci were responsible for 87.33% (n = 4034) of hospitalised IMD cases, ranging from 93.56% (2294/2452) in