Correlation between CSF Glucose Estimation using Glucometers against the Conventional Laboratory Technique in...

Area of Science:

• Clinical Medicine
• Infectious Diseases
• Neurology

Background:

• Bacterial meningitis presents high attack rates and increasing antibiotic resistance.
• Timely diagnosis and management are crucial for patient prognosis.
• Laboratory delays in diagnosis can lead to increased morbidity and mortality.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the accuracy of bedside glucometers for estimating cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) glucose.
• To determine if CSF glucose measurement using glucometers can aid in bacterial meningitis detection.

Main Methods:

• A prospective, comparative study involving 50 patients with suspected CNS infections.
• CSF glucose levels were measured using both conventional laboratory methods and bedside glucometers.
• Logistic regression analysis was used to assess the association between bacterial meningitis and CSF glucose levels.

Main Results:

• No significant difference was found between CSF glucose levels measured by laboratory methods and glucometers (p=0.4613).
• Both methods showed a statistically significant association with bacterial meningitis.
• Glucometer CSF glucose measurement demonstrated a significant association (OR, 0.975; p=0.0066).

Conclusions:

• Bedside glucometer measurement of CSF glucose is an accurate alternative to laboratory methods.
• Rapid CSF glucose testing at the bedside can facilitate timely clinical decisions for suspected bacterial meningitis.