Diagnosing Meningitis with NMR

This means that all metabolites excreted by the bacteria responsible for meningitis can be identified and differentiated from those in normal spinal fluid or in spinal fluid from patients with some other type of infection.

Investigators at the University of Sydney (Australia) reported in the December 1, 2005, issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases that NMR-derived metabonomic analysis clearly distinguished patients with bacterial or fungal meningitis (11 patients) from patients with viral meningitis (12) and control subjects (27) and clearly distinguished patients with postsurgical ventriculitis (5) from postsurgical control subjects (10).

"Bacterial meningitis can be difficult to diagnose, particularly in young children, and this method will lead to faster and more targeted treatment meaning better outcomes,” said senior author Dr.Tania Sorrell, professor of microbiology at the University of Sydney. "When diagnosing bacterial brain infections, accuracy and speed are vitally important.”




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