An official analysis of the September 2012 fungal meningitis outbreak connected to injections of methylprednisolone acetate from a compounding pharmacy has found it caused 61 deaths and 749 incident-related infections, according to a study in The New England Journal of Medicine.
The study examined clinical data from case report forms and tested for the fungi in available specimens.
Researchers identified the fungus in question in 153 of the case patients in more than 800 examined. In the additional 728 specimens available, 229 patients had meningitis but did not test positive for fungi.
Patients received a median of one methylpredisolone acetate injection, had a median age of 64 years and were diagnosed at a median time of 47 days after their last injections.
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The study examined clinical data from case report forms and tested for the fungi in available specimens.
Researchers identified the fungus in question in 153 of the case patients in more than 800 examined. In the additional 728 specimens available, 229 patients had meningitis but did not test positive for fungi.
Patients received a median of one methylpredisolone acetate injection, had a median age of 64 years and were diagnosed at a median time of 47 days after their last injections.
