Measurement of interleukin-6 in cerebrospinal fluid for the diagnosis of bacterial meningitis

Abstract

Objective: It Is assessed whether the measurement of lnterleukln-6 in the cerebrospinal fluid can serve as a blomarker for the diagnosis of bacterial meningitis. Methodology: Cerebrospinal fluid was obtained from 152 patients aged 0-15 years suspected of having meningitis. These patients were classified into the following groups: Bacterial meningitis (n = 85), aseptic meningitis (n = 35) and non-meningltis/control (n = 32) based on leukocyte count and bacterial Identification by culture and molecular biology. lnterleukin-6 concentrations in cerebrospinal fluid were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results: This study found a significant difference of the mean cerebrospinal fluid lnterleukln-6 level (p≤0.01) between patients with bacterial meningitis (3,538.69±2,560.78 pg mL-1) and patients with aseptic meningitis (332.51±470.69 pg mL-1) or those of the control group (205.83±7939 pg mL-1).There wasalso a significant difference of the mean cerebrospinal fluid interleukin-6 level between patients with aseptic meningitis and those ofthe control group, lnterleukin-6 had the highest area under the ROC curve: 0.94 (95% confidence interval: 0.901 -0.979) compared to that of cerebrospinal fluid glucose and total protein. At a cut-off value of 1,065.96 pg mL-1, lnterleukin-6 had a sensitivity of 76.2% and specificity of 100%.Condusion:lnterleukin-6 is a potential biomarkerforthe differential diagnosis of meningitis.