Peripheral eosinophilia as an indicator of meningitic angiostrongyliasis in exposed individuals.
The diagnosis of meningitic angiostrongyliasis (MA) is based on clinical criteria. A lumbar puncture is used as a diagnostic tool, but it is an invasive procedure. The blood eosinophil levels are also assessed and used in the diagnosis of this disease. We enrolled 47 patients with serologically proven MA and 131 controls with intestinal parasite infections. An absolute eosinophil count model was found to be the best marker for MA. An eosinophil count of more than 798 cells led to sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive and negative predictive values of 76.6%, 80.2%, 58.1% and 90.5%, respectively. These data support the use of testing for high blood eosinophil levels as a diagnostic tool for MA in individuals that are at risk for this disease.
The Research and Diagnostic Centre for Emerging Infectious Disease, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, Thailand. kittisak@kku.ac.th
Kittisak
K
Sawanyawisuth
Kanlayanee
K
Sawanyawisuth
Vichai
V
Senthong
Panita
P
Limpawattana
Pewpan M
PM
Intapan
Somsak
S
Tiamkao
Suthipun
S
Jitpimolmard
Verajit
V
Chotmongkol
Elizabeth
E
Barrett-Connor
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004802:Eosinophilia / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008581:Meningitis / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000469:parasitology; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D017206:Strongylida Infections / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis; D055815:Young Adult