title: Can Procalcitonin in Cerebrospinal Fluid be a Diagnostic Tool for Meningitis?
abstract: BACKGROUND
  To study the levels of procalcitonin (PCT) in patients with meningitis and control group and compare them with established markers of infection--such as C-reactive protein (CRP), high-sensitivity CRP, and WBC--in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and assess the possible discriminative role of PCT in the differential diagnosis of meningitis from other noninfectious diseases.
  
  
  METHODS
  We studied CSF samples of patients from Intensive Care Unit, Internal Medicine, Neurology, Hematology, and Pediatric departments. The total number of patients included in the study was 58. The samples were divided into three groups: group 1 with bacterial meningitis (BM) central nervous system (n = 19); group 2 with viral meningitis (VM, n = 11); and group 3, control group, with noninfectious diseases (n = 28).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Values of PCT levels >0.5 ng/ml were considered as abnormal. In group 1, mean PCT levels were 4.714 ± 1.59 ng/ml. In group 2, all patients had PCT <0.5 ng/ml (0.1327 ± 0.03 ng/ml). In group 3, the mean PCT levels were <0.1 ng/ml.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  PCT values in CSF can be very helpful in distinguishing BM from VM and other noninfectious diseases.
authors.affiliation: Regional Public Health Laboratory, Hellenic Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Alexandroupolis, Greece.
authors.forename: Theocharis
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Konstantinidis
authors.affiliation: Paediatric Department, Medical School, Democritus University of Thrace, Komotini, Greece.
authors.forename: Dimitrios
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Cassimos
authors.affiliation: Immunology Department of Microbiology Laboratory, University General Hospital of Alexandroupolis, Alexandroupolis, Greece.
authors.forename: Theodora
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Gioka
authors.affiliation: Immunology Department of Microbiology Laboratory, University General Hospital of Alexandroupolis, Alexandroupolis, Greece.
authors.forename: Christina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tsigalou
authors.affiliation: Regional Public Health Laboratory, Hellenic Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Alexandroupolis, Greece.
authors.forename: Theodoros
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Parasidis
authors.affiliation: Regional Public Health Laboratory, Hellenic Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Alexandroupolis, Greece.
authors.forename: Ioanna
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Alexandropoulou
authors.affiliation: Regional Public Health Laboratory, Hellenic Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Alexandroupolis, Greece.
authors.forename: Christos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Nikolaidis
authors.affiliation: Immunology Department of Microbiology Laboratory, University General Hospital of Alexandroupolis, Alexandroupolis, Greece.
authors.forename: Georgia
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Kampouromiti
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Hygiene and Environmental Protection, Medical School, Democritus University of Thrace, Komotini, Greece.
authors.forename: Theodoros
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Constantinidis
authors.affiliation: Paediatric Department, Medical School, Democritus University of Thrace, Komotini, Greece.
authors.forename: Athanasios
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Chatzimichael
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Microbiology, Medical School, Democritus University of Thrace, Komotini, Greece.
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Panopoulou
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid; D002116:Calcitonin / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid*; D015740:Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007362:Intensive Care Units; D007962:Leukocytes / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D016920:Meningitis, Bacterial / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid* / Q000175:diagnosis*; D008587:Meningitis, Viral / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid* / Q000175:diagnosis*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011498:Protein Precursors / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013997:Time Factors; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: C000606589:CALCA protein, human; D011498:Protein Precursors; D002116:Calcitonin; D002097:C-Reactive Protein; D015740:Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide
keywords: bacterial; cerebrospinal fluid; meningitis; procalcitonin