DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS
In the Addendum on page 18 of the January 1993 issue, the page reference should be 354, not 394. In the Medical Record Review on page 67 of the February 1993 issue, the reference to the sample form in the last paragraph of the middle column should have noted that the form was on page 69.
Two abstracts regarding rifampin prophylaxis (September 1992, page 354 and October 1992, page 370) differ about whether the index patient should receive rifampin treatment. Dr. Shelov responds: It was stated in the October abstract that the index case of meningococcal disease should receive rifampin prophylaxis, but this is not the recommendation of the REDBOOK Committee of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Rather, this opinion is the consensus of other experts, including those from the Centers for Disease Control. Many children who have meningococcal disease now are treated with ceftriaxone. Because this antibiotic eradicates nasal carriage of the bacteria, rifampin use is not justified for the index case treated with ceftriaxone. I hope this clarifies further the directions for rifampin prophylaxis in meningococal disease.
