Cerebrospinal fluid levels of interleukin-6 and interleukin-12 in children with meningitis.

Abstract

PURPOSE:

Certain cytokines play important roles in the pathophysiology of meningitis. The main purpose of this study was to investigate if the levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6) and interleukin-12 (IL-12) in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) could be diagnostic predictors of bacterial meningitis in children.

METHODS:

CSF was obtained from 95 patients suspected with meningitis. These cases were classified to the bacterial meningitis (n = 12), aseptic meningitis (n = 41), and nonmeningitis (n = 42) groups. The levels of IL-6 and IL-12 in CSF were measured using the enzyme-linked immmunosorbent assays test.

RESULTS:

The CSF IL-6 levels in the bacterial meningitis group (45.2 +/- 50.0 pg/ml) were significantly higher than those in the aseptic meningitis group (12.9 +/- 10.2 pg/ml) and the nonmeningitis group (6.5 +/- 7.8 pg/ml; p < 0.05). The CSF IL-12 levels in the bacterial meningitis group (69.8 +/- 67.1 pg/ml) were significantly higher than those in the aseptic meningitis group (22.9 +/- 10.8 pg/ml) and the nonmeningitis group (15.3 +/- 11.2 pg/ml; p < 0.05). With regard to diagnosis, the measurement of CSF IL-6 and IL-12 levels showed sensitivities of 96% and 96%, respectively, and specificities of 51% and 75%, respectively.

CONCLUSION:

It is suggested that the CSF IL-6 and IL-12 levels are useful markers for distinguishing bacterial meningitis from aseptic meningitis.

• Authors: Chia-Chang Hsieh, Jen-Her Lu, Shu-Jen Chen, Cheng-Chou Lan, Wen-Chi Chow, Ren-Bin Tang
• Journal: Child's nervous system : ChNS : official journal of the International Society for Pediatric Neurosurgery (Childs Nerv Syst) Vol. 25 Issue 4 Pg. 461-5 (Apr 2009) ISSN: 1433-0350 [Electronic] Germany
• PMID: 18815795 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)

Chemical References

• Interleukin-6
• Interleukin-12
• C-Reactive Protein

Topics

• Adolescent
• C-Reactive Protein (analysis)
• Child
• Child, Preschool
• Diagnosis, Differential
• Humans
• Infant
• Interleukin-12 (cerebrospinal fluid)
• Interleukin-6 (cerebrospinal fluid)
• Meningitis, Aseptic (cerebrospinal fluid)
• Meningitis, Bacterial (cerebrospinal fluid)
• Sensitivity and Specificity