Comparison of Immunoassays for Detection of Bacterial Antigens in Cerebrospinal Fluid from Meningitis Patients

摘要

Bacterial meningitis is an acute disease that required immediate appropriate antimicrobial therapy. Since certain of the causative agents can be resistant to traditionally employed antibiotics (e.g. Haemophilus to the penicillins and certain meningococcal serogroups to the sulfanomides), accurate laboratory diagnosis before initiating therapy is highly desirable. However, elevated antibody levels usually do not develop by the time of hospital admission and routine culture methods take at least 24 hours to complete. Immunological detection of antigens produced by these organisms in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) or other specimens is the most rapid method of laboratory diagnosis and can therefore contribute significantly to management of patients with these diseases. In addition, commercially available immuno-assays which requires essentially no laboratory facilities enable immediate diagnosis at the bedside and in remote locations.