[Predictive value of the ocular globe compression in meningeal syndromes]

Meningeal syndromes are evaluated in clinical practice by classic semiological signs all of them showing important sensibility and specificity but with some limitations. Thus, we propose a clinical method in order to diagnose meningeal syndromes capable of being easily executed and without risks for patients: to evaluate the pain by ocular globe compression as a semiological sign in meningeal syndromes. We studied 160 patients both gender, assorted age, distributed into two groups of patients, group I with meningeal syndrome and group II without meningeal syndrome.

in group I (n=80), at least one of the classic signal in meningeal syndrome was present in 71 patients (88.75%), while pain by ocular globe compression was positive in 78 patients (98.7%) with meningeal syndrome. In group I, this sign reached important sensibility (97.5%), specificity (98.8%) in meningeal syndromes. In conclusion, pain by ocular globe compression seems to be an important semiological sign and would be better investigated.