Combined testing of cerebrospinal fluid IL-12 (p40) and serum C-reactive protein as a possible discriminator of acute bacterial neuroinfections

Y Kalchev, T Petkova, R Raycheva, P Argirova… - Cytokine, 2021 - Elsevier
Y Kalchev, T Petkova, R Raycheva, P Argirova, M Stoycheva, M Murdjeva
Cytokine, 2021Elsevier
Introduction Central nervous system infections (CNS) are life-threatening diseases, with
meningitis being the most common. Viral infections are usually self-limiting diseases but
bacterial pathogens are associated with higher mortality rates and persistent neurological
sequelae. We aimed to study the role of IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, IL-12 (p40), TNF-α cytokines,
classical cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) parameters, and serum C-reactive protein levels (CRP)
for discriminating bacterial from viral central nervous system infections. Material and …
Introduction
Central nervous system infections (CNS) are life-threatening diseases, with meningitis being the most common. Viral infections are usually self-limiting diseases but bacterial pathogens are associated with higher mortality rates and persistent neurological sequelae. We aimed to study the role of IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, IL-12(p40), TNF-α cytokines, classical cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) parameters, and serum C-reactive protein levels (CRP) for discriminating bacterial from viral central nervous system infections.
Material and methods
This prospective study included 80 patients with clinical signs and abnormal cerebrospinal fluid laboratory findings typical for neuroinfection admitted to St. George University Hospital-Plovdiv. Routine methods such as direct microscopy, culturing and identification were used for microbiological analysis as well as latex-agglutination test and multiplex PCR. Cytokines' concentrations were measured by ELISA. CRP and CSF parameters were collected from the patients' medical records.
Results
We observed the highest discriminatory power among cytokines for cerebrospinal IL-12(p40) (AUC = 0.925; p = 0.000). CSF protein levels were the best predictor for bacterial neuroinfection (AUC = 0.973; p = 0.000). The AUC for the serum CRP as a stand-alone biomarker was estimated to be 0.943. The discriminatory power can be increased up to 0.995 (p = 0.000) when combining cerebrospinal fluid IL-12(p40) and serum CRP, with an optimal cut-off value of 144 (Sensitivity 100%; Specificity 90.9%).
Conclusion
The combined testing of CSF IL-12(p40) and serum CRP is associated with the highest diagnostic accuracy.
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