[Usefulness of establishing chosen acute phase proteins concentrations in serum and cerebrospinal fluid for differential diagnosis and monitoring of purulent meningitis in adults. I].

40 adult patients were examined: 24 with purulent meningitis and 16 with lymphocytic meningitis. The control group consisted of 100 healthy people. In purulent meningitis patients in the 1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th, 14th and 28th day of the disease, concentrations of the following acute phase proteins were measured in serum: C-reactive protein, alpha 1-antitripsin, alpha 1-orosomucoid, alpha 2-ceruloplasmin, alpha 2-macroglobulin and alpha 2-haptoglobin. In lymphocytic meningitis patients concentrations of the above mentioned acute phase proteins were measured only in the 1st day of the disease. Usefulness of establishing alpha 2-haptoglobin, alpha 1-antitripsin, alpha 2-ceruloplasmin and particularly C-reactive protein concentrations for differential diagnosis of purulent and lymphatic meningitis was proved. Evaluation of C-reactive protein and alpha 1-antitripsin concentration kinetics proved to be fully useful for monitoring of seriousness of the course of purulent meningitis, and together with evaluation of the clinical condition of the patient it can constitute a valuable marker of effectiveness of the disease treatment.