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Cerebrospinal fluid TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-8 in children with bacterial meningitis

Rajniti Prasad1, Rishi Kapoor1, Ragini Srivastava2

  • 1Department of Pediatrics, Institute of Medical Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India.

Pediatric Neurology
|October 22, 2013
PubMed

Insights

Elevated cerebrospinal fluid levels of tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-6, and interleukin-8 are significantly increased in children with bacterial meningitis. These cytokine measurements show high accuracy for diagnosing bacterial meningitis in children.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Infectious Diseases
  • Neuroinflammation
  • Biomarker Discovery

Background:

  • Bacterial meningitis is a serious infection in children requiring accurate and timely diagnosis.
  • Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) cytokine profiles are being investigated as potential diagnostic markers.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate CSF concentrations of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and interleukin-8 (IL-8) in children with bacterial meningitis.
  • To assess the diagnostic utility of these cytokines in differentiating bacterial from viral meningitis.

Main Methods:

  • CSF samples were collected from children diagnosed with bacterial meningitis (n=57), viral meningitis (n=15), and healthy controls (n=15).
  • Levels of TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-8 were quantified using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).
  • Statistical analysis included receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis to determine sensitivity and specificity.

Main Results:

  • CSF levels of TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-8 were significantly elevated in children with bacterial meningitis compared to viral meningitis and controls (P < 0.001).
  • At optimal cutoffs, CSF cytokines demonstrated 100% sensitivity and specificity for bacterial meningitis diagnosis.
  • TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-8 showed high sensitivity and specificity in differentiating bacterial from viral meningitis (e.g., TNF-α: 94.7% sensitivity, 86.7% specificity).

Conclusions:

  • Elevated CSF TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-8 suggest a role in the pathogenesis of pediatric bacterial meningitis.
  • These CSF cytokines may serve as valuable biomarkers for diagnosing bacterial meningitis, especially in cases with diagnostic uncertainty.
Abstract

Keywords:
cerebrospinal fluidinterleukin-6 (IL-6)interleukin-8 (IL-8)meningitistumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α)

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