Hypoglycorrhachia in adults with community-acquired meningitis: etiologies and prognostic significance

•Hypoglycorrhachia in meningitis has significant clinical and prognostic significance.•A concomitant cerebrospinal fluid and serum glucose determination is rarely done appropriately.•The degree of hypoglycorrhachia may aid in the differential diagnosis.

SummaryObjectivesHypoglycorrhachia (cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) glucose <45 mg/dl) has been identified as a prognostic factor in patients with meningitis. The differential diagnosis of hypoglycorrhachia and its clinical significance was analyzed in the present study.MethodsThis was a retrospective study of 620 adult patients with community-acquired meningitis (CSF white blood cell count >5 × 106 cells/l and absence of a CSF shunt or recent neurosurgical procedure (<1 month)) at eight Memorial Hermann hospitals in Houston, Texas, from January 2005 to December 2010. An adverse clinical outcome was defined as a Glasgow outcome scale score of ≤4.ResultsOut of 620 patients with meningitis, 116 (19%) had hypoglycorrhachia. Etiologies of hypoglycorrhachia were idiopathic (n = 40), bacterial (n = 27), cryptococcal (n = 26), viral (n = 15), and tuberculous (n = 4). Patients with hypoglycorrhachia were more likely to be immunosuppressed, have a history of intravenous drug use, and present with a vesicular or petechial rash, nausea or vomiting, nuchal rigidity, sinusitis/otitis, abnormal mental status, and focal neurological deficits compared to those patients without hypoglycorrhachia (p < 0.05). Additionally, patients in the hypoglycorrhachia group had significantly higher rates of positive CSF and blood cultures, urgent treatable conditions, and abnormal cranial imaging (p < 0.05). Furthermore, patients with hypoglycorrhachia had more adverse clinical outcomes (26/116 (22.4%) vs. 45/504 (8.9%); p < 0.001).ConclusionHypoglycorrhachia has significant clinical and prognostic value in the evaluation of adult patients with community-acquired meningitis.