Background: Tuberculous meningitis (TBM) is an endemic infectious disease in developing countries, and it can become a serious illness in children. Treatment of TBM is more difficult and prone to failure than treatment of pulmonary tuberculosis. TBM causes hydrocephalus, cerebral edema, increased intracranial pressure, global ischemia, and neurologic deficits, which disturb cellular metabolism and increase lactate levels. A reliable, widely available clinical indicator of TBM severity is needed. Successful treatment of TBM is assessed using the Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS).
Methods: This prospective cohort study included 34 patients with TBM and acute hydrocephalus who had undergone fluid diversions and were admitted to Dr. Hasan Sadikin Hospital in Bandung from 2014 to 2015. A portable machine for blood glucose measurement was used to measure lactate concentrations. Statistical significance was defined as P ≤ 0.05.
Results: Average levels of plasma and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) lactate were 1.99 ± 0.70 mmol/L and 3.04 ± 1.05 mmol/L, respectively. A significantly higher level of lactate was observed in CSF compared with plasma. Preoperative plasma lactate was negatively correlated to GOS (r = -0.539; P = 0.013), and CSF lactate was negatively correlated to GOS (r = -0.412; P = 0.027). Average lactate levels in CSF (central) were higher than plasma (peripheral) levels. GOS scale of patients decreased with increased plasma and CSF lactate levels.
Conclusions: Examination of plasma and CSF lactate levels should be included in routine examinations to determine extent of cellular damage and GOS score in patients with TBM and acute hydrocephalus who have undergone fluid diversions.
Keywords: Acute hydrocephalus; Glasgow Outcome Scale; Plasma lactate and cerebrospinal fluid lactate level; Tuberculous meningitis.
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