A Comparison of Leukocyte Adhesiveness Aggregation Test in Blood and Cerebral Spinal Fluid forDifferentiating Bacterial and Viral Meningitis

Meningitis is a life-threatening disease in children, and rapid diagnosis and
differentiation of bacterial from viral causes has important roles in its prognosis. The aim of this study
was to differentiate bacterial from viral meningitis by leukocyte adhesiveness aggregation test (LAAT). In this study, we examined the adhesive properties ofwhite blood cells (WBC)
in the peripheral blood and cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) of 24 children (ages: 3 months to 15 years) with
documented bacterial or viral meningitis. Other diagnostic tests, such as WBC counts, blood and CSF
glucose and protein, ESR, and CRP, were measured and compared. The mean percentage of the leukocyte aggregation in the peripheral blood in bacterial meningitis
(7.64 ± 4) was significantly higher than that in nonbacterial meningitis (3.69 ± 4.2, P = 0.02). Thepercentages of the leukocyte aggregation in CSF for bacterial versus nonbacterial meningitis were 0.2 and
0, respectively; this was not significant. The mean hospitalization age (P = 0.01), CSF glucose (P = 0.03),
CSF PMN (P = 0.001), and ESR (P = 0.03) in the bacterial meningitis cases were 10.91 days, 37 mg/dL,
78.8%, and 55.9, respectively, and in the viral meningitis were 7.92 days, 58.9 mg/dL, 35.4%, and 19.3,
respectively. That it was meningitis
Discussion and LAAT in the blood but not in the CSFcandifferentiate bacterial fromnonbacterial meningitis, although there is need for further studies.