Differentiation of carcinomatous and bacterial meningitis

Abstract

A case of combined carcinomatous and bacterial meningitis is presented, the first of its kind to be recorded in the medical literature. The utility of the cerebrospinal white blood cell count in the differentiation of bacterial and carcinomatous meningitis is reviewed. Cerebrospinal fluid white blood cell counts in carcinomatous meningitis are usually less than 100 per cubic millimeter, while in bacterial meningitis they are greater than 100, usually in the range of 1000 to 10,000 per cubic millimeter. © 1972 American Academy of Neurology.