Waterhouse-Friderichsen Syndrome
Waterhouse-Friderichsen Syndrome Causes
Waterhouse-Friderichsen syndrome is usually caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae infections and usually a common bacterial pathogen which are usually linked with meningitis in the adult and elderly population..
Waterhouse-Friderichsen Syndrome Definition
Waterhouse-Friderichsen syndrome, WFS for brevity is usually bilateral and massive, hemorrhage into the adrenal glands caused by fulminant meningococcemia (Kumar V, Abbas A, Fausto N (2005). Robins and Coltran: Pathological Basis of Disease, 7th, Elsevier, pp. 1214?5)
Waterhouse-Friderichsen Syndrome Diagnosis
Diagnosis includes the Synachten test inorder to demonstrate the acute suprarenal failure of the person affected with the Waterhouse-Friderichsen syndrome.
Waterhouse-Friderichsen Syndrome Symptoms and Signs
Symptoms includes onset fever,rigors, vomiting and headache followed by rash, first in the macular which may petechial and purpuric with dusky color. Cyanosis of extremities may also manifest. Thus it is manifest through the overwhelming bacterial infectio, rapidly progressive hypotension which leads to shock, disseminated intravascular coagulation or DIC which is accompanied by widespread purpura most especially in the skin and rapidely developing adrenocortical insufficiency linked to massive bilateral adrenal hemorrhage. Acidosis and acute renal failure can often be seen in cases of severe sepsis.
Waterhouse-Friderichsen Syndrome Treatment
Treatment includes routine vaccination against menigococcus for individuals who had their spleen removed or who have sickle-cell anemia which damage the spleen or to those individual who have certain immune disorders such as complement deficiency (Rosa D, Pasqualotto A, de Quadros M, Prezzi S (2004). "Deficiency of the eighth component of complement associated with recurrent meningococcal meningitis--case report and literature review". Braz J Infect Dis 8 (4): 328-30).