Determination of CSF LDH and β2-m levels for differentiating viral meningitis from purulent meningitis in pediartic patients

Objective To explore the significance of LDH and β2-m concentration in CSF in differentiating viral meningitis from purulent meningitis in pediartic patients.Methods Kinetic method was performed to detect the LDH concentration in CSF in 45 patients with purulent meningitis and 49 patients with viral meningitis and 22 healthy children of control group respectively.On the other hand,radioimmunoassay(RIA)was used to detect the concentration of β2-m.Results The concentrations of LDH in CSF in purulent meningitis group(26.15±12.17)U/L were higher than that in viral meningitis group(8.76±4.94)U/L significantly(P0.01);the levels of β2-m in CSF were higher in both purulent meningitis group(3.56±0.96)μg/L and viral meningitis group(2.13±0.44)μg/L than that in normal control group (P0.01).The significance was also apparent in statistics between purulent meningitis group and viral meningits group(P0.01).Conclusion The concentration of LDH and β2-m in CSF can be treated as rapid diagnostic indices in differentiating purulent meningitis from viral meningitis in pediartic patients.It also provide directly laboratory evidence for clinical pediatrician to diagnose the two difierent diseases.