Clinical characteristics and the cerebro-spinal fluid (CSF)
cytokine changes in
acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (
AIDS) patients with
tuberculous meningitis and
cryptococcal meningitis in central nervous system (
CNS) infections before and
after treatment were investigated. The clinical records of 80
AIDS patients with
CNS infections and 40 non-
CNS infection patients hospitalized in the
Infection Department of the First Hospital of Changsha from February 2013 to March 2016 were retrospectively analyzed. Forty-one cases of
AIDS complicated with
tuberculous meningitis were enrolled as group A, 39 cases of
AIDS complicated with
cryptococcal meningitis as group B, and 40 cases of non-
CNS infection with lumbar puncture indication as group C. The general data, clinical symptoms, CSF examination and prognosis of the three groups of patients were collected. Of the 80 patients, 56 patients were discharged from hospital (improvement group) and 24 died (death group)
after treatment. The concentrations of
interferon-γ (IFN-γ),
interleukin-6 (IL-6),
interleukin-10 (IL-10) and
tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) in CSF were detected by
enzyme-linked
immunosorbent assay. There were significant differences in clinical manifestations, CSF pressure, CSF leucocyte count, CSF
glucose, CSF
chloride and CSF
protein between group A, group B and group C (P<0.05). The concentrations of IFN-γ,
IL-6,
IL-10 and TNF-α in CSF of group A and group B increased significantly compared with group C (P<0.001). The
IL-6,
IL-10 and TNF-α levels in CSF in the improvement group were significantly lower than those in the death group (P<0.001), while the concentration of IFN-γ increased significantly (P<0.001). CSF biochemistry is characterized by increased pressure, leucocyte count and
protein, and decreased
chloride and
glucose. IFN-γ,
IL-6,
IL-10 and TNF-α in CSF have certain predictive value for poor prognosis of
AIDS patients with
CNS infection.