FREE NEJM E-TOC    HOME   |   SUBSCRIBE   |   CURRENT ISSUE   |   PAST ISSUES   |   COLLECTIONS   |   Search Term  Advanced Search

Sign in | Get NEJM's E-Mail Table of Contents — Free | Subscribe

Previous Volume 353:1245-1251 September 22, 2005 Number 12 Next

	Full Text PDF PDA Full Text PowerPoint Slide Set Letters Add to Personal Archive Add to Citation Manager Notify a Friend E-mail When Cited E-mail When Letters Appear PubMed Citation

SUMMARY

Staphylococcus aureus has increasingly been recognized as a cause of severe invasive illness. We describe three children who died at our institution after rapidly progressive clinical deterioration from this infection, with necrotizing pneumonia and multiple-organ-system involvement. The identification of bilateral adrenal hemorrhage at autopsy was characteristic of the Waterhouse–Friderichsen syndrome, a constellation of findings usually associated with fulminant meningococcemia. The close genetic relationship among the three responsible isolates of S. aureus, one susceptible to methicillin and two resistant to methicillin, underscores the close relationship between virulent methicillin-susceptible S. aureus and methicillin-resistant S. aureus isolates now circulating in the community.

Source Information

From the Departments of Pathology (P.V.A., A.N.H.) and Pediatrics, Sections of Critical Care Medicine (C.P.M., T.K.K.) and Infectious Diseases (S.B.-V., R.S.D.), University of Chicago; and the Cook County Office of the Medical Examiner (V.A., M.H.) — all in Chicago.

Address reprint requests to Dr. Adem at the Department of Pathology, University of Chicago Hospitals, 5841 S. Maryland Ave., MC 6101, Chicago, IL 60637, or at patricia.adem{at}uchospitals.edu.

Full Text of this Article

Related Letters:

Staphylococcal Sepsis in Children
Branco R. G., Tasker R. C., Koogler T. K., Montgomery C. P., Daum R. S.
Extract | Full Text | PDF  
N Engl J Med 2005; 353:2820, Dec 29, 2005. Correspondence

This article has been cited by other articles:

• Pantosti, A., Venditti, M. (2009). What is MRSA?. Eur Respir J 34: 1190-1196 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Crawford, S. E., David, M. Z., Glikman, D., King, K. J., Boyle-Vavra, S., Daum, R. S. (2009). Clinical Importance of Purulence in Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Skin and Soft Tissue Infections. J Am Board Fam Med 22: 647-654 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Napolitano, L. M., Brunsvold, M. E., Reddy, R. C., Hyzy, R. C. (2009). Community-Acquired Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Pneumonia and ARDS: 1-Year Follow-Up. Chest 136: 1407-1412 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Vardakas, K. Z., Matthaiou, D. K., Falagas, M. E. (2009). Incidence, characteristics and outcomes of patients with severe community acquired-MRSA pneumonia. Eur Respir J 34: 1148-1158 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Hukkanen, R. R., Liggitt, H. D., Murnane, R. D., Frevert, C. W. (2009). Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome in Nonhuman Primates Culminating in Multiple Organ Failure, Acute Lung Injury, and Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation. Toxicol Pathol 37: 799-804 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Bornstein, S. R. (2009). Predisposing Factors for Adrenal Insufficiency. NEJM 360: 2328-2339 [Full Text]  
• Montgomery, C. P., Daum, R. S. (2009). Transcription of Inflammatory Genes in the Lung after Infection with Community-Associated Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus: a Role for Panton-Valentine Leukocidin?. Infect. Immun. 77: 2159-2167 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• David, M. Z., Mennella, C., Mansour, M., Boyle-Vavra, S., Daum, R. S. (2008). Predominance of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus among Pathogens Causing Skin and Soft Tissue Infections in a Large Urban Jail: Risk Factors and Recurrence Rates. J. Clin. Microbiol. 46: 3222-3227 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Finelli, L., Fiore, A., Dhara, R., Brammer, L., Shay, D. K., Kamimoto, L., Fry, A., Hageman, J., Gorwitz, R., Bresee, J., Uyeki, T. (2008). Influenza-Associated Pediatric Mortality in the United States: Increase of Staphylococcus aureus Coinfection. Pediatrics 122: 805-811 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Glikman, D., Siegel, J. D., David, M. Z., Okoro, N. M., Boyle-Vavra, S., Dowell, M. L., Daum, R. S. (2008). Complex Molecular Epidemiology of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Isolates From Children With Cystic Fibrosis in the Era of Epidemic Community-Associated Methicillin-Resistant S aureus. Chest 133: 1381-1387 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Campbell, S. J., Deshmukh, H. S., Nelson, C. L., Bae, I.-G., Stryjewski, M. E., Federspiel, J. J., Tonthat, G. T., Rude, T. H., Barriere, S. L., Corey, R., Fowler, V. G. Jr. (2008). Genotypic Characteristics of Staphylococcus aureus Isolates from a Multinational Trial of Complicated Skin and Skin Structure Infections. J. Clin. Microbiol. 46: 678-684 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Moellering, R. C. Jr (2008). A 39-Year-Old Man With a Skin Infection. JAMA 299: 79-87 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Palazzolo-Ballance, A. M., Reniere, M. L., Braughton, K. R., Sturdevant, D. E., Otto, M., Kreiswirth, B. N., Skaar, E. P., DeLeo, F. R. (2008). Neutrophil Microbicides Induce a Pathogen Survival Response in Community-Associated Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus. J. Immunol. 180: 500-509 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Cooper, M. S., Stewart, P. M. (2007). Adrenal Insufficiency in Critical Illness. J Intensive Care Med 22: 348-362 [Abstract]  
• Johnson, P. N, Rapp, R. P, Nelson, C. T, Butler, J., Overman, S., Kuhn, R. J (2007). Characterization of Community-Acquired Staphylococcus aureus Infections in Children. The Annals of Pharmacotherapy 41: 1361-1367 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Brady, J. M., Stemper, M. E., Weigel, A., Chyou, P.-H., Reed, K. D., Shukla, S. K. (2007). Sporadic "Transitional" Community-Associated Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Strains from Health Care Facilities in the United States. J. Clin. Microbiol. 45: 2654-2661 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Daum, R. S. (2007). Skin and Soft-Tissue Infections Caused by Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus. NEJM 357: 380-390 [Full Text]  
• Elizur, A., Orscheln, R. C., Ferkol, T. W., Atkinson, J. J., Dunne, W. M. Jr, Buller, R. S., Armstrong, J. R., Mardis, E. R., Storch, G. A., Cannon, C. L. (2007). Panton-Valentine Leukocidin-Positive Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Lung Infection in Patients With Cystic Fibrosis. Chest 131: 1718-1725 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Credito, K., Lin, G., Appelbaum, P. C. (2007). Activity of Daptomycin Alone and in Combination with Rifampin and Gentamicin against Staphylococcus aureus Assessed by Time-Kill Methodology. Antimicrob. Agents Chemother. 51: 1504-1507 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Credito, K., Lin, G., Appelbaum, P. C. (2007). Antistaphylococcal Activity of DX-619 Alone and in Combination with Vancomycin, Teicoplanin, and Linezolid Assessed by Time-Kill Synergy Testing. Antimicrob. Agents Chemother. 51: 1508-1511 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Morgan, W. R., Caldwell, M. D., Brady, J. M., Stemper, M. E., Reed, K. D., Shukla, S. K. (2007). Necrotizing Fasciitis Due to a Methicillin-Sensitive Staphylococcus aureus Isolate Harboring an Enterotoxin Gene Cluster. J. Clin. Microbiol. 45: 668-671 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Moran, G. J., Krishnadasan, A., Gorwitz, R. J., Fosheim, G. E., McDougal, L. K., Carey, R. B., Talan, D. A., the EMERGEncy ID Net Study Group, (2006). Methicillin-Resistant S. aureus Infections among Patients in the Emergency Department.. NEJM 355: 666-674 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Kelly-Quintos, C., Cavacini, L. A., Posner, M. R., Goldmann, D., Pier, G. B. (2006). Characterization of the Opsonic and Protective Activity against Staphylococcus aureus of Fully Human Monoclonal Antibodies Specific for the Bacterial Surface Polysaccharide Poly-N-Acetylglucosamine.. Infect. Immun. 74: 2742-2750 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Moellering, R. C. Jr. (2006). The growing menace of community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.. ANN INTERN MED 144: 368-370 [Full Text]  
• (2006). Staphylococcal Waterhouse-Friderichsen syndrome. Arch. Dis. Child. 91: 148-148 [Full Text]  
• Branco, R. G., Tasker, R. C., Koogler, T. K., Montgomery, C. P., Daum, R. S. (2005). Staphylococcal Sepsis in Children. NEJM 353: 2820-2820 [Full Text]