Table 1.
Clinical features and CSF analysis results in patients with suspected primary amoebic meningoencephalitis (PAM), Karachi, Pakistan, 2014–2015
| Patient characteristic | N. fowleri cases (N = 19) | Patient with meningitis like illness (N = 97) | P values |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age (years) | 28 | 35 | 0.557 |
| Gender (%) | – | ||
| Male | 16 (84) | 70 (72) | |
| Female | 3 (16) | 27 (28) | |
| Duration of illness before testing (days) | 2–3 | 1–3 | – |
| Symptoms | |||
| Fever (%) | 63 | 51 | – |
| Headache (%) | 32 | 27 | – |
| Seizures (%) | 21 | 32 | – |
| Altered consciousness (%) | 53 | 14 | – |
| Disorientation (%) | 10 | 8 | – |
| *CSF analysis | Median values | ||
| Glucose, mg/dL | 29 (5–264) | 73 (5–314) | 0.0001† |
| Protein, mg/dL | 326 (27–426) | 60 (4–393) | 0.0001† |
| Leukocytes, cells/mm3 | 1,440 (2–9,000) | 30 (2–64,000) | 0.012† |
| Neutrophils, % | 80 (30–95) | 70 (5–95) | 0.18 |
| Lymphocytes, % | 20 (5–70) | 30 (5–95) | 0.181 |
| Red blood cell (RBC), cells/mm3 | 212 (2–13,460) | 90 (2–6,184) | 0.227 |
*
Normal values CSF glucose 45–80 mg/dL, Protein 20–40 mg/dL, Leukocytes 0–5 cells/mm3, Red blood cell (RBC) 0–10 cells/mm3.
†
Denotes significant differences (P ≤ 0.05) between N. fowleri confirmed cases and patient with meningitis-like illness, analysis were performed using nonparametric Mann–Whitney U tests.