Mohammed, M., Abdelhalim, M., Abdel Wahab Garrad, H. (2023). The Results of Meningitis/Encephalitis Panel in Children with Suspected Central Nervous System Infections. The Egyptian Journal of Hospital Medicine, 90(1), 10-13. doi: 10.21608/ejhm.2023.279022
Maha Zakariya Mohammed; Marwa Ramadan Mohamed Abdelhalim; Hoda Ezz Elarab Abdel Wahab Garrad. "The Results of Meningitis/Encephalitis Panel in Children with Suspected Central Nervous System Infections". The Egyptian Journal of Hospital Medicine, 90, 1, 2023, 10-13. doi: 10.21608/ejhm.2023.279022
Mohammed, M., Abdelhalim, M., Abdel Wahab Garrad, H. (2023). 'The Results of Meningitis/Encephalitis Panel in Children with Suspected Central Nervous System Infections', The Egyptian Journal of Hospital Medicine, 90(1), pp. 10-13. doi: 10.21608/ejhm.2023.279022
Mohammed, M., Abdelhalim, M., Abdel Wahab Garrad, H. The Results of Meningitis/Encephalitis Panel in Children with Suspected Central Nervous System Infections. The Egyptian Journal of Hospital Medicine, 2023; 90(1): 10-13. doi: 10.21608/ejhm.2023.279022
The Results of Meningitis/Encephalitis Panel in Children with Suspected Central Nervous System Infections
2Clinical pathology2, Faculty of Medicine, Ain Shams University
Abstract
Background: Central nervous system (CNS) infection in pediatrics is a considerable cause of morbidity and fatality. Objective: The aim of the current study was to evaluate the Allplex™ Meningitis Panel Assays (ME) as a rapid diagnostic method for CNS infections. Methods: The study included 329 cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples from pediatric patients with suspected CNS infections. The samples were analyzed using the Allplex™ ME panel in the period between January 2020 and January 2022. Result: Out of the 329 CSF samples, 21 (6.4%) cases were positive. The commonest viral pathogen detected was parvo B19 (n=11), followed by human herpes virus 7 (n=3) and human herpes virus 6 (n=2). Streptococcus pneumoniae (n=1) was the only bacterial pathogen detected in our cohort. One patient with parvo B19 encephalitis improved markedly after receiving methylprednisolone. Another patient with parvo B19 was diagnosed consequently as anti-N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor encephalitis. Conclusion: The Allplex™ ME Panel test can rapidly detect 18 pathogens from CSF. In view of antibiotics misuse, ME Panel aids in diagnosis of CNS infection helping the clinicians in early management and shortening the length of hospital stay. Case by case clinical evaluation is mandatory to avoid unnecessary request of the ME panel test. Further testing -specially for CSF autoantibodies- is warranted in case of worsening or unsatisfactory improvement of the condition.
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