Lactate concentrations were determined in the cerebrospinal fluid of patients with purulent, tuberculous and
viral meningitis. The control group consisted of 10 patients with
meningism (the presence of the meningeal syndrome with a normal cytobiochemical finding of the cerebrospinal fluid). The enzymatic kinetic method of the firm "Behringer" was used. In all the patients with purulent
meningitis lactate values were elevated (above 6.2 mmol/l), and the highest values (above 15.0 mmol.l) were found in the patients who also developed
respiratory failure. The
lactate values in the cerebrospinal fluid of patients with purulent
meningitis were higher in statistical significance than in all other examined groups of patients (p less than 0.01). The
lactate values were in correlation with the total number of leukocytes (r = 0.78, p less than 0.01) and with the percent of polimorphonuclear leukocytes in the cerebrospinal fluid (r = 0.80, p less than 0.01). Elevated
lactate values (above 2.95) were also found in all the patients who had
tuberculous meningitis and statistically they differed significantly from the cerebrospinal fluid values of the patients with
viral meningitis and
meningism (p less than 0.01). There was no difference in the cerebrospinal fluid
lactates of patients with
viral meningitis and
meningism (p greater than 0.05). Elevated
lactate values were also found in 2 patients who had paraneoplastic
meningitis and in 3 patients with
cerebral cysticercosis and
hydrocephalus, but without
meningitis.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)