The usefulness of serum delta neutrophil index for differentiating bacterial and viral meningitis in the emergency department.
- Author:
Joon Woo LEE
1
;
Chan Ik PARK
;
Hyung Il KIM
;
Oh Hyun KIM
;
Kyoung Chul CHA
;
Hyun KIM
;
Kang Hyun LEE
;
Sung Oh HWANG
;
Yong Sung CHA
Author Information
- Publication Type:Original Article
- Keywords: Biochemical markers; Meningitis; Delta neutrophil index
- MeSH: Bacterial Infections; Biomarkers; C-Reactive Protein; Early Diagnosis; Emergencies*; Emergency Service, Hospital*; Granulocytes; Humans; Leukocyte Count; Leukocytes; Meningitis; Meningitis, Bacterial; Meningitis, Viral*; Mortality; Neutrophils*; Observational Study; Retrospective Studies
- From: Clinical and Experimental Emergency Medicine 2016;3(2):95-99
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:English
- Abstract: OBJECTIVE: When managing patients with acute meningitis in an emergency department (ED), early diagnosis of the type of infection (bacterial or viral) considerably affects the clinical course and treatment because of the high mortality and morbidity associated with bacterial meningitis (BM). The serum delta neutrophil index (DNI), a new inflammatory marker, reflects the fraction of circulating immature granulocytes and is elevated in cases of bacterial infection. The objective of this study was to evaluate whether serum DNI can be used to differentiate between BM and viral meningitis (VM) in the ED. METHODS: This retrospective, observational study included 104 consecutive patients (aged >18 years) diagnosed with acute meningitis from January 2012 to November 2014 in a regional emergency center. White blood cell and neutrophil counts, C-reactive protein level, and DNI were evaluated regarding their usefulness for differentiating BM and VM. RESULTS: Serum DNI was not significantly higher in the BM group (n=12) than in the VM group (n=92) (0 [interquartile range, 0% to 2.73%] vs. 0 [interquartile range, 0 to 0%], P=0.057). However, the white blood cell count and C-reactive protein level were statistically higher in the BM group (P=0.034 and P=0.026, respectively). Serum DNI was not found to be a statistically useful differential diagnostic parameter (area under the curve, 0.628; 95% confidence interval, 0.438 to 0.818). CONCLUSION: Currently, there is no evidence that the serum DNI aids in differentiating acute BM from acute VM in the ED.
