Neisseria meningitidis presenting as acute abdomen and recurrent reactive pericarditis

Abstract

Meningococcal meningitis is a well established potential fatal infection characterized by fever, headache, petechial rash, and vomiting in the majority of cases. However, protean manifestations including abdominal pain, sore throat, diarrhea and cough, even though rare, should not be overlooked. Similarly, although disseminated infection could potentially involve various organ-targets, secondary immune related complications including joints or pericardium should be dealt with caution, since they remain unresponsive to appropriate antibiotic regimens. We hereby report the rare case of an otherwise healthy adult female, presenting with acute abdominal pain masking Neisseria meningitidis serotype B meningitis, later complicated with recurrent reactive pericarditis despite appropriate antibiotic treatment. There follows a review of current literature. Keywords: Reactive pericarditis, Neisseria meningitidis, Meningococcal meningitis