Abstract

ORTIZ- IBARRA, Federico Javier; REYNA- FIGUEROA, Jesús; ALDANA- CUEVAS, Rodrigo Efrén  and  LARA- SANCHEZ, Jacqueline. Effectiveness of the measurement of interleukin- 6 in cerebrospinal fluid for detection of neonatal bacterial meningitis. Bol. Med. Hosp. Infant. Mex. [online]. 2005, vol.62, n.4, pp.249-255. ISSN 1665-1146.

Introduction. A great variety of cytokines are produced locally in the central nervous system in response to microbial infection, and their levels have been used as a diagnostic parameter of infection. Objectives: to determine the concentrations of interleukin- 6 (IL- 6) in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of newborns with bacterial meningitis and the effectiveness of the determination as a diagnostic tool. Material and methods. This was a prospective study from December 2002 to July 2003, in the Instituto Nacional de Perinatologia (INPer), in which the concentrations of IL- 6 in the CSF were measurered in newborns with a clinical diagnosis of sepsis. Results. Fourteen out of 58 newborns attended during the study period had bacterial meningitis.The mean IL- 6 concentration in the meningitis group was 9 994 pg/mL vs 15.4 pg/mL in the control group (P <0.05). Sensitivity was (92%),the specificity (100%);the positive predictive value and area under the ROC curve support that IL- 6 concentration of >50 pg/mL in CSF are the cut- off level of neonatal bacterial meningitis. The concentrations of IL- 6 in the CSF were greater, demonstrating itself that concentrations of IL- 6 equal or greater to 50 pg/mL have a sensitivity of 92% and a specificity of 100%, for the diagnosis of bacterial meningitis. Conclusions. The determination of the concentration of IL- 6 in CSF could be a useful tool in the meningitis diagnosis; however CSF conventional analysis and culture are still the gold standard.

Keywords : Interleukina- 6; bacterial meningitis; cerebrospinal fluid.

        · abstract in Spanish     · text in Spanish     · Spanish ( pdf )