• A Viallon, V Pouzet, F Zéni, B Tardy, S Guyomarc'h, C Lambert, Y Page, and J C Bertrand.
• Service d'Urgence et Réanimation médicales, Hôpital Bellevue, CHU de Saint-Etienne. alain.viallon@univ-st-etienne.fr
• Presse Med. 2000 Mar 25;29(11):584-8.

ObjectiveIt has been shown that serum procalcitonin (PCT) can be used to differentiate bacterial from viral meningitis in children in all cases. The aim of this study was to demonstrate the interest of PCT in the management of suspected meningitis in adults.Patients And MethodsWe conducted a prospective study including 179 consecutive patients admitted to the emergency department for suspected meningitis. All samples were taken at patient admission. The discriminant potential between bacterial and viral meningitis was studied for cerebrospinal fluid parameters (cytology, protein, glucose, lactate) and serum parameters (C reactive protein, PCT).ResultsThirty-two patients had bacterial meningitis, 90 had viral meningitis and meningitis was ruled out in 57. Among all studied parameters, the most discriminant for distinguishing between bacterial and viral meningitis in 100% of the cases proved to be serum procalcitonin with a threshold value of 0.93 ng/ml.ConclusionSerum procalcitonin is an interesting parameter in the emergency department for management of meningitis suspicion in adults.

49 keywords...

hide…