Open Access
29-10-2024 | Original Research
Life After Invasive Meningococcal Disease: Insights from Survivors and Their Caregivers
Authors:
Oscar Herrera-Restrepo, Nuzhat Afroz, Eliazar Sabater Cabrera, Matthew Reaney, France Ginchereau Sowell, Ramiya Kumar, Alicia Stillman, Patti Wukovits, Mariana Rodrigues, Sofia B. Pinto, Zeki Kocaata, Obinna Onwude
Published in:
Infectious Diseases and Therapy
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Abstract
Introduction
Invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) has a low incidence but is a life-threatening illness that is preventable via vaccination. Even with treatment, up to 10–15% of cases are fatal, and many survivors may experience severe long-term sequelae. Building upon the acute-phase findings presented in the Part 1 manuscript for this study, we describe the long-term physical, social, psychological, and economic burden of IMD on US survivors and their caregivers in this Part 2 manuscript.
Methods
This was a novel, non-interventional, mixed-methods study among US survivors and their caregivers using a bespoke survey and qualitative interviews.
Results
Ten adult survivors, one adolescent survivor, and three caregivers participated in this study. Survivors described extensive physical, neurological, and systemic sequelae, including difficulty walking (11/11), repeat secondary infections (9/11), and numbness (6/11), among others, which were echoed by caregivers. Survivors shared that IMD had negatively impacted their long-term quality of life, citing long-term impacts including emotional impacts (11/11), social impacts (10/11), memory (7/11) and attention (5/11) problems, and difficulty with functional (10/11), self-care (7/11), and physical (6/11) activities. Caregivers were also impacted, describing emotional trauma (3/3), sleep problems (2/3), and day-to-day challenges (2/3).
Long-term financial challenges related to healthcare resource utilization were substantial, with specialized care and rehabilitation therapy expenses (11/11), insurance challenges (8/11), and high out-of-pocket costs (6/11) for survivors. Productivity losses were also commonly described by survivors (9/11); sequelae hindered ability to attend school (9/11) or work full time (8/11). Caregivers (2/3) described taking leave from their employment, affecting family income.
Conclusions
The humanistic burden of IMD on survivors and their caregivers is substantial and persistent. A comprehensive approach, including preventative measures (e.g., vaccination) and long-term medical, psychological, and financial support for those affected, is needed to mitigate the burden of IMD.
A video abstract is available with this article.