Cerebrospinal fluid hepatocyte growth factor level in meningitis.
OBJECTIVE
Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) is a multifunctional cytokine that has been found to be elevated in tuberculous and bacterial meningitis, but no evaluation has been undertaken of its usefulness in identifying various forms of aseptic meningitis.


METHODS
In a retrospective study, the levels of HGF in the cerebrospinal fluid of 65 patients were measured prior to treatment. The association of HGF with non-infectious diseases and clinically or microbiologically proven bacterial, tuberculous, viral, fungal and parasitic meningitis was observed, along with its relation to other parameters of the cerebrospinal fluid.


RESULTS
Forty six of the 65 patients (71%) were diagnosed as having meningitis. Cerebospinal fluid HGF level was significantly elevated in patients with meningitis compared with patients with non-infectious diseases (1501 vs 578 pg/mL; Mann-Whitney U test, p=0.001). The highest HGF level was found in bacterial meningitis (2699 pg/mL), followed by tuberculous meningitis (1540 pg/mL), viral meningitis (1431 pg/mL), fungal meningitis (714 pg/mL) and parasitic meningitis (174 pg/mL). There was no association between HGF level and other parameters of the cerebrospinal fluid (Pearson's correlation test).


CONCLUSIONS
Cerebrospinal fluid HGF may offer additional information in the classification of meningitis. This may assist in patient management when no pathogen is cultured from the cerebrospinal fluid and when other parameters of the cerebrospinal fluid demonstrate equivocal results.
Sy
Cheng-Len
CL
Section of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
Tsai
Hung-Chin
HC
Wann
Shue-Ren
SR
Lee
Susan Shin-Jung
SS
Liu
Yung-Ching
YC
Chen
Yao-Shen
YS
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D042241:Early Diagnosis; D005260:Female; D017228:Hepatocyte Growth Factor / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008581:Meningitis / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid* / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000382:microbiology / Q000469:parasitology / Q000821:virology; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric
D017228:Hepatocyte Growth Factor