Correlation between culture of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and antimycobacterial antibody in lumbar, ventricular and cisternal cerebrospinal fluids of patients with tuberculous meningitis
Radhakrishnan, V.V.; Mathai, A.; Thomas, M.
Indian Journal of Experimental Biology 29(9): 845-848
1991
ISSN/ISBN: 0019-5189 PMID: 1794868 Document Number: 379664
In this study positive culture for Mycobacterium tuberculosis were obtained, 20% in lumbar cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), 75% in ventricular CSF and 87.5% in cisternal CSFs of patients with tuberculous meningitis. Low culture positivity in lumbar CSF is due to the low density of circulating tubercle bacilli in lumbar CSF than in cisternal or ventricular CSFs. However antimycobacterial antibody in lumbar, cisternal and ventricular CSFs circulate in significant titres and are not statistically different from one another. Since specimens of CSF can not be obtained from cisternal or ventricular routes for the routine bacteriological investigations in patients with tuberculous meningitis, detection of antimycobacterial antibody of M. tuberculosis antigen 5 in lumbar CSF by an indirect ELISA may be considered as an aid for the diagnosis of tuberculosis meningitis, particularly when repeated CSF cultures are negative for M. tuberculosis.