Rapid differentiation of rocky mountain spotted fever from chickenpox, measles, and enterovirus infections and bacterial meningitis by frequency-pulsed electron capture gas-liquid chromatographic analysis of sera

Abstract

Normal sera and sera from patients with Rocky Mountain spotted fever, chickenpox, enterovirus infections, measles, and Neisseria meningitidis infections were extracted with organic solvents under acidic and basic conditions and then derivatized with trichloroethanol or heptafluorobutyric anhydride-ethanol to form electron-capturing derivatives of organic acids, alcohols, and amines. The derivatives were analyzed by frequency-pulsed electron capture gas-liquid chromatography (FPEC-GLC). There were unique differences in the FPEC-GLC profiles of sera obtained from patients with these respective diseases. With Rocky Mountain spotted fever patients, typical profiles were detected as early as 1 day after onset of disease and before antibody could be detected in the serum. Rapid diagnosis of Rocky Mountain spotted fever by FPEC-GLC could permit early and effective therapy, thus preventing many deaths from this disease.

Applications of cellular fatty acid analysis.

“…In most cases, derivatives of more than one class of compounds (acids, alcohols, and amines) were analyzed. Cryptococcal (30,133), enteroviral (24,30,133), herpesvirus (30), measles virus, varicella-zoster virus, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, meningococcal (24), nocardial (22), and tuberculous (21, 30, 51) meningitis have been studied. Modification of GLC resulting in increased sensitivity is central to the direct analysis of clinical specimens (20,85).…”

Rapid diagnosis of tuberculous meningitis by frequency-pulsed electron-capture gas-liquid chromatography detection of carboxylic acids in cerebrospinal fluid

“…Based on evidence presented in past reports (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8) and data in this report, FPEC-GLC may eventually be useful as an aid to the diagnosis of some other type of diseases that give a clinical picture similar to that of tuberculous meningitis.…”

Analysis of fatty acids of the genus Rochalimaea by electron capture gas chromatography: detection of nonanoic acid

“…profiles obtained with serum samples from patients infected with echovirus 6 or Neisseria meningitidis also contained nonanoic acid. However, the acid was not a major criterion for differentiating these infections from Rocky Mountain spotted fever, in which no nonanoic acid was detected in a patient serum sample (5).…”