Table 2.
Demographic, vitals signs, laboratory and cerebrospinal fluid results on enrolment
| Tuberculous meningitis | Acute meningitis | Chronic meningitis | Encephalitis | Meningoencephalitis | P values | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | 41 | 10 | 9 | 12 | 12 | |
| Demographic results | ||||||
| Age; years, (median, range) | 31 (13–64) | 33 (15–65) | 36.5 (22–67) | 38 (16–57) | 36 (14–62) | p = 0.8 |
| Males; (number, percentage) | 31 (75.6 %) | 6 (66.6 %) | 7 (77.7 %) | 9 (75 %) | 6 (50 %) | p = 0.4 |
| Fever History (number, percentage) | 32 (78 %) | 9 (100 %) | 7 (77.8 %) | 10 (83.3 %) | 8 (66.6 %) | p = 0.4 |
| Days of fever before presentation (median, range) | 14 (3–90) | 3 (1–19) | 35 (7–90) | 5 (2–21) | 4 (2–10) | p < 0.001 |
| Headache | 33 (80.5 %) | 8 (88.9 %) | 8 (88.9 %) | 8 (66.6 %) | 7 (63.6 %) | p = 0.6 |
| Coma (GCS < 11) | 12 (29.2 %) | 2 (22.2 %) | 0 (0 %) | 4 (33.3 %) | 3 (25 %) | p = 0.4 |
| HIV Positive (number, percentage) | 4 (9.8 %) | 3 (33.3 %) | 4 (44.4 %) | 2 (16.6 %) | 3 (27.7 %) | p = 0.3 |
| Vitals signs and laboratory results | ||||||
| Pulse Rate; median (range), (beats/min) | 85 (55–155) | 101 (50–160) | 88 (68–108) | 101 (65–140) | 99 (60–162) | p = 0.2 |
| Temperature; mean (range) (degrees Celsius) | 37.8 (36–40) | 38.5 (36.5–39) | 37.6 (36.2–38.2) | 38 (36.6–40.8) | 36.8 (36.8–39.3) | p = 0.4 |
| White blood cell count; mean (range), ×103/μL | 10.3 (4.3–25.3) | 10.8 (6–30.3) | 9.8 (4.3–13) | 15.2 (4.1 to 24.9) | 10 (4–22.2) | p = 0.3 |
| Hemoglobin; mean (range), (g/dl) | 12.4 (8.1–16.8) | 13.4 (7.4–15.9) | 12.1 (8–16.4) | 12 (8.2–15.9) | 12.1 (8.8–15.3) | p = 0.8 |
| Platelet; mean (range), ×109/L | 314 (83–582) | 251 (86–296) | 274 (212–443) | 193 (58–767) | 299 (61–470) | p = 0.1 |
| Lumbar Puncture Results | ||||||
| Opening Pressure (cm H2O) | 21 (8–65) | 6 (4–27) | 17 (4–40) | 15 (8–40) | 15 (3–34) | p = 0.2 |
| Total White Cell Count | 60 (0–1160) | 95 (20–220) | 40 (5–1050) | 50 (8–615) | 30 (0–305) | p = 0.4 |
| Neutrophil (Percentage) | 5 (0–92) | 20 (5–89) | 30 (0–99) | 10 (0–100) | 4 (0–30) | p = 0.09 |
| >50 % Neutrophils (number, percentage) | 7 (17.1 %) | 2 (22.2 %) | 3 (33.3 %) | 5 (41.7 %) | 6 (50 %) | p = 0.04 |
| Glucose (mmol/L) | 2 (0.2-4.6) | 3 (0.1-6) | 1.7 (0.2-3) | 3.8 (0.5-6.2) | 4 (2-5) | p = 0.7 |
| CSF:blood glucose ratio | 0.26 (0.09–0.51) | 0.45 (0.05–0.87) | 0.17 (0.1–0.31) | 0.55 (0.06–0.83) | 0.64 (0.32–0.8) | p < 0.001 |
| CSF:blood glucose ratio <50 % (number, percentage) | 37 (90.2) | 5 (55.5) | 8 (88.8) | 4 (33.3) | 2 (18.2) | p = 0.03 |
| Total Protein g/L | 1.6 (0.3–7.1) | 1.3 (0.5–4.2) | 1.2 (0.7–3.8) | 0.9 (0.4–8.3) | 0.95 (0.3–1.6) | p = 0.06 |
P < .05 by analysis of variance, the Kruskal-Wallis tests, χ 2 test or Fisher’s exact test comparing the groups