| Comparison of the Demographic and Laboratory Profiles of Patients with Aseptic Meningitis and Encephalitis: Significance of Age and C-reactive Protein |
| Kang Min Park1, Kyong Jin Shin1, Sam Yeol Ha1, Jin Se Park1, Bong Soo Park2, and Sung Eun Kim1 |
1Departments of Neurology, Haeundae Paik Hospital, Inje University College of Medicine, Busan, Korea
2Departments of Internal Medicine, Haeundae Paik Hospital, Inje University College of Medicine, Busan, Korea |
| Corresponding Author:
Sung Eun Kim ,Tel: +82-51-797-1190, Fax: +82-51-797-1191, Email: epidoc@inje.ac.kr |
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Received December 23, 2013 Accepted October 1, 2014 |
| Copyright © 2014 The Korean Society of Clinical Neurophysiology |
| This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is properly cited. |
| ABSTRACT |
Background: Viruses can cause either meningitis or encephalitis. It is unclear why some people suffer from aseptic meningitis, and others acquire aseptic encephalitis when infected with the same viral pathogens. The aim of this study was to compare demographic and laboratory factors between patients with aseptic meningitis and encephalitis.
Methods: The demographic and laboratory differences were analyzed according to age, sex, diabetes, hypertension, C-reactive protein in the blood, white blood cell and protein in the cerebrospinal fluid, and glucose ratio (cerebrospinal fluid/blood). Additionally, we analyzed the nation-wide differencesin age between the patients with aseptic meningitis and those with encephalitis in Korea.
Results: The patients with aseptic encephalitis were older, more likely to have hypertension, and had higher levels of C-reactive protein than did the patients with aseptic meningitis. However, the numbers of white blood cells in the cerebrospinal fluid were significantly higher in the patients with meningitis than in the patients with encephalitis. Multivariable analysis revealed that age >49 years, hypertension and a C-reactive protein level >5.81 mg/dL were independent and significant variables in the prediction of aseptic encephalitis. Additionally, the patients with aseptic encephalitis were older than those with aseptic meningitis in the nation-wide Korean database.
Conclusions: Older age, hypertension, and higher levels of C-reactive protein are useful factors for the prediction of aseptic encephalitis. |
| Key words:
Blood-brain barrier, Meningitis, Encephalitis, Age, C-reactive protein |
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