Lactate levels in cerebrospinal fluid and its relationship with bacterial meningitis in children

Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) provides mechanical support and contributes to the control of the cerebral chemical environment. Meningitis is the most common of the infections that affect the nervous central system and can progress rapidly producing important brain damage. Bacterial meningitis gives rise to a reduction in the irrigation of the brain, followed by hypoxia, anaerobic catabolism with the formation of lactic acid (LA) and increase in its level in cerebrospinal fluid. In order to carry out an earlier diagnosis, lactic acid levels were studied, trying to demonstrate the importance of the determination of this parameter, correlate the levels with those of other components, and obtain limit values to differentiate the different groups in the paediatric population. A prospective study was performed in which samples of patients suspected of having meningitis, who were admitted into hospital and/or attending the emergency service of the Children's Hospital of Cordoba, Argentina were analysed. The increase in the levels of lactate was one of the most reliable pieces of information in the diagnosis of BM, comparing it with the rest of the parameters studied and differentiating it from the control group or with viral encephalitis. The levels of LA and lactate dehydrogenase (LD) enabled the observation of subpopulations according to the virulence of the causal agent and the intensity of the pathological manifestations in the BM group.