Assessing cerebrospinal fluid abnormalities in neurosyphilis patients  without human immunodeficiency virus infection.
Neurosyphilis (NS) caused by Treponema pallidum (T. pallidum) subspecies pallidum, can affect the central nervous system during any stage of the disease. To assess several laboratory parameters for NS diagnosis, we performed a case control study on 42 hospitalized NS patients negative for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and 40 syphilis/non-NS patients, excluding NS patients at Xiamen Zhongshan Hospital from June 2010 to June 2011. Multivariate logistic regression model showed that the cerebrospinal fluid white blood cell (CSF-WBC, P = 0.009) levels, the CSF-LDH (P = 0.006) levels, the albumin quotient (P = 0.009) and the IgA index (P = 0.042) were independently associated with high risk of NS. The receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve analysis revealed that the optimal cut-offs were 10 × 106 cells/L for the CSF-WBC concentration, 19.3 U/L for the CSF lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) concentration, 7.08 for the albumin quotient, and 0.14 for the IgA index. Combining the CSF-WBC level, the CSF-LDH level, the albumin quotient and the IgA index increased the NS diagnosis sensitivity to 97.6%. T. pallidum particle agglutination (TPPA) index significantly correlated with the CSF-WBC (r = 0.453, P = 0.000), the IgA index (r = 0.446, P = 0.000), the albumin quotient (r = 0.262, P = 0.017), and the CSF-LDH (r = − 0.278, P = 0.012), respectively. In addition, there were correlations between the CSF-WBC and the IgA index (r = 0.329, P = 0.003), and between the CSF-WBC and the albumin quotient (r = 0.306, P = 0.005). Our results indicated that simultaneous testing of CSF-WBC levels, albumin quotient, IgA index and CSF-LDH can help predict the likelihood of NS in HIV-negative patients.
Li-Li
LL
Liu
Hui-Lin
HL
Zhang
Song-Jie
SJ
Huang
Long
L
Liu
Man-Li
ML
Tong
Li-Rong
LR
Lin
Yu-Yan
YY
Chen
Ya
Y
Xi
Xiao-Jing
XJ
Guo
Ya-Feng
YF
Zhang
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000418:Albumins / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections; D006801:Humans; D007070:Immunoglobulin A / Q000097:blood / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000097:blood / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid; D007075:Immunoglobulin M / Q000097:blood / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid; D007770:L-Lactate Dehydrogenase / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid; D007958:Leukocyte Count; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009494:Neurosyphilis / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid* / Q000453:epidemiology; D016017:Odds Ratio; D055815:Young Adult
D000418:Albumins; D007070:Immunoglobulin A; D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D007075:Immunoglobulin M; D007770:L-Lactate Dehydrogenase