Clinical Presentation, Aetiology, and Outcomes of Meningitis in a Setting of High HIV and TB Prevalence
Table 2
Cerebrospinal fluid analysis and clinical outcomes.
BM
CM
TBM
VM
( = 15)
( = 9)
( = 22)
( = 10)
HIV positive, (%)
11/13 (85)
8/9 (89)
15/19 (79)
10/10 (100)
% on ART
8/11 (73)
3/8 (38)
11/15 (73)
4/10 (40)
CD4 count, median, cells/mm3 (IQR)
162 (91–257)
18 (12–41)
119 (100–277)
102 (75–129)
CSF analysis
Gram stain (+)
12/15 (80)
0 (0)
0 (0)
0 (0)
Bacterial antigen test (+)
4/15 (27)
0 (0)
0 (0)
0 (0)
India ink (+)
0 (0)
6/9 (67)
0 (0)
0 (0)
CSF CRAG (+)
0 (0)
8/9 (89)
0 (0)
0 (0)
White blood cells
Range, cells/mm3
0–420
0–184
8–2393
0–18
Median, cells/mm3 (IQR)
7 (2–147)
10 (0–86)
217 (58–435)
0 (0-0)
>5 cells/mm3, (%)
9/15 (60)
5/9 (56)
22/22 (100)
2/10 (20)
Lymphocytic pleocytosis
2/9 (22)
4/5 (80)
20/22 (91)
2/2 (100)
Glucose
Median, mmol/L (IQR)
3.0 (1.1–3.8)
2.0 (1.0–2.9)
1.1 (0.6–2.3)
3.0 (2.7–3.6)
<2.2 mmol/L, (%)
5/15 (33)
5/9 (56)
14/22 (64)
1/10 (10)
Protein
Median, g/L (IQR)
0.6 (0.4–1.5)
1.0 (0.7–1.8)
2.0 (1.7–4.4)
0.5 (0.4–0.7)
>0.45 g/L, (%)
11/15 (73)
8/9 (89)
20/22 (91)
7/10 (70)
Hospital stay, median days (IQR)
11 (9–12)
17 (17–23)
11 (8–11)
23 (23-23)
Mortality rate, (%)
6/24 (25)
4/24 (17)
5/24 (21)
9/24 (38)
Fatality rate, (%)
6/15 (40)
4/9 (44)
5/22 (23)
9/10 (90)
HIV infection rate expressed as a percentage of patients with known HIV status; expressed as a percentage of patients with HIV infection; positive Gram stain and bacterial antigen results reported for initial and repeat CSF specimens; calculated as a percentage of patients with CSF white cells >5 cells/mm3; BM: bacterial meningitis; CM: cryptococcal meningitis; MN: mononuclear cells; : number of patients; : total number of patients for whom the analysis was performed; PMN: polymorphonuclear cells; TBM: tuberculous meningitis; VM: viral meningitis.
