Laboratorial diagnosis of lymphocytic meningitis

Abstract

Meningitis is the main infectious central nervous system (CNS) syndrome. Viruses or bacteria can cause acute meningitis of infectious etiology. The term "Aseptic Meningitis" denotes a clinical syndrome with a predominance of lymphocytes in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), with no common bacterial agents identified in the CSF. Viral meningitis is considered the main cause of lymphocyte meningitis. There are other etiologies of an infectious nature. CSF examination is essential to establish the diagnosis and to identify the etiological agent of lymphocytic meningitis. We examined CSF characteristics and the differential diagnosis of the main types of meningitis.

Laboratory Parameters of Cerebrospinal Fluid in Individuals With Enterovirus Meningitis: A Descriptive Study

“…In healthy individuals, the CSF may present up to 4 leucocytes/mm 3 , whereas this number can reach up to 1000 leukocytes/mm 3 with viral infections, or even exceed 1000 leukocytes/ mm 3 with bacterial infections 1 .…”

“…The predominant type of leukocyte is important to know in order to assist in the diagnosis. There is a predominance of neutrophils in bacterial meningitis, while in viral meningitis lymphocytes are usually predominant 1,13 .…”

“…These infections can present high morbidity and low mortality rates. They rarely lead to serious DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7322/jhgd.103022 complications, which are observed mainly in immuno-compromised individuals 1,3,7 .…”

“…The results of CSF analysis form the basis for the objectives of the therapy and allows the request of other necessary examinations, according to the diagnosis and identification of the etiologic agent 1,12,13 .…”

“…In the CSF viral infection analysis, there is generally a predominance of lymphocytes and absence of bacterial agents 1 . In aseptic meningitis, mononuclear cells are predominant, while in bacterial meningitis, polymorphonuclear cells are predominant.…”