Table 2.
Cerebrospinal fluid analysis, treatment and outcome in patients with VZV meningitis or meningoencephalitis
| Varicella zoster virus meningitis (n=59) | Varicella zoster virus meningoencephalitis (n=15) | P value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cerebrospinal fluid analysis | |||
| Leukocyte count (×106/L) | 13 (3-87) | 6.5 (2-27) | 0.33 |
| Protein (mg/ml) | 70.56±36.42 | 74.52±32.74 | 0.36 |
| CSF chlorine (mmol/L) | 123.6±4.2 | 123.1±7.09 | 0.37 |
| LDH (U/L) | 24.78±9.28 | 27.29±11.11 | 0.19 |
| CSF glucose (mmol/L) | 3.68±0.79 | 4.21±0.94 | 0.02 |
| ADA (U/L) | 3.30±5.42 | 2.71±1.87 | 0.35 |
| Serum analysis | |||
| IgG (g/L) | 11.53±2.16 | 10.96±3.19 | 0.45 |
| IgA (g/L) | 2.26±0.79 | 2.26±0.93 | 0.98 |
| Days passed between onset of the herpes zoster to onset of neurological symptoms [median (Q1-Q3)] | 3 (1-6) | 3 (1-9) | 0.16 |
| Days passed between onset of the neurological symptoms to initiation of the antivirus treatment [median (Q1-Q3)] | 2 (1-4) | 4 (1-5) | 0.03 |
| Days of admission | 17.1±3.9 | 20.2±8.6 | 0.04 |
| Days of intravenous antivirus treatment | 14.9±3.4 | 16.7±4.8 | 0.09 |
| Outcome at discharge | |||
| good | 51 | 7 | 0.00 |
| fair | 8 | 4 | 0.22 |
| poor | 0 | 4 |