Introduction: Bacterial meningitis (BM) is a severe complication in patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH). Clinical signs of meningitis are often masked by SAH-related symptoms, and routine cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) analysis fails to indicate BM. Microdialysis (MD) is a technique for monitoring cerebral metabolism in patients with SAH. A cohort study was performed to investigate the value of MD for the diagnosis of BM.
Methods: Retrospectively, 167 patients with SAH in an ongoing investigation on cerebral metabolism monitored by MD were analysed for the presence of BM and related MD changes. Diagnosis of BM was based on microbiological CSF culture or clinical symptoms responding to antibiotic treatment, combined with an increased CSF cell count and/or fever. Levels of MD parameters before and after diagnosis of BM were analysed and compared with the spontaneous course in controls.
Results: BM developed in 20 patients, of which 12 underwent MD monitoring at the time of diagnosis. A control group was formed using 147 patients with SAH not developing meningitis. On the day BM was diagnosed, cerebral glucose was lower compared with the value three days before (p = 0.012), and the extent of decrease was significantly higher than in controls (p = 0.044). A decrease in cerebral glucose by 1 mmol/L combined with the presence of fever >or= 38 degrees C indicated BM with a sensitivity of 69% and a specificity of 80%. CSF chemistry failed to indicate BM, but the cell count increased during the days before diagnosis (p < 0.05).
Conclusions: A decrease in MD glucose combined with the presence of fever detected BM with acceptable sensitivity and specificity, while CSF chemistry failed to indicate BM. In patients with SAH where CSF cell count is not available or helpful, MD might serve as an adjunct criterion for early diagnosis of BM.