Table 2.

Mean values (± standard deviation) of biochemical serum parameters

	Bacterial meningitis n = 35	Viral meningitis n = 218	P
Glucose level (mmol/L) (min - max)	8.4 ± 2.7 (4.9-14.6)	6.1 ± 1.8 (4-18)	0.03
Lactate (mmol/L) (min - max)	3 ± 1.8 (1-8)	1.8 ± 1.7 (1-7)	0.0001
Procalcitonin (ng/ml) (min - max)	17 ± 45 (0.2-257)	0.09 ± 0.03 (0.07-0.1)	0.0001
C-reactive protein (mg/L) (min - max)	159 ± 148 (19-660)	42 ± 39 (3-152)	0.0001