[Lactates in the cerebrospinal fluid in patients with bacterial and viral meningitis--significance in differential diagnosis].

Lactate concentrations were determined in the cerebrospinal fluid of patients with purulent, tuberculous and viral meningitis. The control group consisted of 10 patients with meningism (the presence of the meningeal syndrome with a normal cytobiochemical finding of the cerebrospinal fluid). The enzymatic kinetic method of the firm "Behringer" was used. In all the patients with purulent meningitis lactate values were elevated (above 6.2 mmol/l), and the highest values (above 15.0 mmol.l) were found in the patients who also developed respiratory failure. The lactate values in the cerebrospinal fluid of patients with purulent meningitis were higher in statistical significance than in all other examined groups of patients (p less than 0.01). The lactate values were in correlation with the total number of leukocytes (r = 0.78, p less than 0.01) and with the percent of polimorphonuclear leukocytes in the cerebrospinal fluid (r = 0.80, p less than 0.01). Elevated lactate values (above 2.95) were also found in all the patients who had tuberculous meningitis and statistically they differed significantly from the cerebrospinal fluid values of the patients with viral meningitis and meningism (p less than 0.01). There was no difference in the cerebrospinal fluid lactates of patients with viral meningitis and meningism (p greater than 0.05). Elevated lactate values were also found in 2 patients who had paraneoplastic meningitis and in 3 patients with cerebral cysticercosis and hydrocephalus, but without meningitis.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)