The following symptoms and complaints may indicate meningococcal sepsis:
Leading symptoms
- Nausea (nausea), vomiting.
- High fever
- Meningeal signs such as meningismus (painful neck stiffness).
- Central cyanosis – bluish discoloration of the skin and central mucous membranes/tongue in the absence of oxygen.
- Rapid circulatory failure
- Coma
- Rapid-onset skin hemorrhages in Waterhouse-Friderichsen syndrome such as: Petechiae (pinpoint hemorrhages), sugillations (area hemorrhages), or generalized purpura (as a dermatological manifestation of thrombocytopenia/platelet deficiency).
- Gangrene development (tissue necrosis/tissue death, usually as a result of blood insufficiency) of the extremities
- Adrenal necrosis – local tissue death of the adrenal cortical tissue.
- Disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) – acquired blood clotting disorder due to excessive consumption of clotting factors and platelets (thrombocytes).
