CEREBROSPINAL FLUID LDH IN 287 CHILDREN, INCLUDING 53 CASES OF MENINGITIS OF BACTERIAL AND NON-BACTERIAL ETIOLOGY

Abstract

Cerebrospinal fluid lactic dehydrogenase activity was determined in 287 children. Among these, 87 had no central nervous system disease and were considered to be controls. Mean lactic dehydrogenase activity in 69 controls (excluding newborn infants) was 14 units. In 18 control infants less than 1 week of age, the mean lactic dehydrogenase activity was 50 units. Thirty-two patients with bacterial meningitis had a mean cerebrospinal fluid lactic dehydrogenase of 251 units on the initial examination; 20 patients with aseptic meningoencephalitis had a mean lactic dehydrogenase activity of 23 units. The difference between the lactic dehydrogenase activity in children with bacterial and aseptic meningitis was highly significant (p < 0.005). The clinical course of the patients studied was reflected by the change in cerebrospinal fluid lactic dehydrogenase activity on serial determinations. Spinal fluid isoenzyme patterns were studied in a few patients with bacterial and non-bacterial central nervous system disorders. This study indicates that the determination of lactic dehydrogenase in spinal fluid is a useful adjunct to other cerebrospinal fluid parameters in the differential diagnosis of central nervous system infections.