title: [Neurological presentations of bacterial meningitis in children: current possibilities of diagnosis and treatment].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To improve clinical/laboratory diagnosis of bacterial meningitis (BM) in children.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fifty-seven patients, aged from 4 months to 12 years, with BM were examined. Bacteriological study of the mucus from the nasopharynx, sterility tests of blood and cerebrospinal fluid (CNF), clinical and biochemical tests, serological study of paired samples of plasma - indirect hemagglutination test, latex agglutination assay, immunological study of plasma and CNF with the determination of interferon -α, -β and -γ, interferon procalcitonin and neopterin with ELISA were performed at admission and after CNF remediation. Molecular-genetic study of the blood serum and CNF using PCR, neurosonography, computed tomography and MRI of the brain were done as well.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Most of the patients had generalized meningococcus infection (64,9%). Hib-meningitis, pneumococcus meningitis and other forms were less frequent. Characteristics of neurological presentations of BM depending on the etiology, somatic complications and time from the manifestation of symptoms were described. Clinical/biochemical criteria of BM and correlations between procalcitonin, neopterin and interleukin-8 in the CNF and blood of the patients and disease severity as well as between the level of inflammatory reactions in the CNF and the BM form were established. These results are important for the development of informative biomarkers for the prognosis of BM course and outcome.
authors.affiliation: Russian Medical Academy of Postdegree Education, Moscow, Russia.
authors.forename: L N
authors.initials: LN
authors.lastname: Mazankova
authors.affiliation: Russian Medical Academy of Postdegree Education, Moscow, Russia.
authors.forename: O A
authors.initials: OA
authors.lastname: Milovanova
authors.affiliation: Russian Medical Academy of Postdegree Education, Moscow, Russia.
authors.forename: D A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Moiseenkova
authors.affiliation: Moscow City Infectious Diseases Hospital #2, Moscow, Russia.
authors.forename: I A
authors.initials: IA
authors.lastname: Soldatova
authors.affiliation: Moscow City Infectious Diseases Hospital #2, Moscow, Russia.
authors.forename: E P
authors.initials: EP
authors.lastname: Mikhalinova
mesh_terms: D001419:Bacteria / Q000302:isolation & purification; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000032:analysis / Q000097:blood / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid; D002116:Calcitonin / Q000032:analysis / Q000097:blood / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D016209:Interleukin-8 / Q000032:analysis / Q000097:blood / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid; D008297:Male; D016920:Meningitis, Bacterial / Q000097:blood / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000628:therapy*; D010614:Pharynx / Q000382:microbiology; D011379:Prognosis
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; C508606:CXCL8 protein, human; D016209:Interleukin-8; D002116:Calcitonin