Cerebrospinal fluid ferritin and albumin index: potential candidates for scoring system to differentiate between bacterial and viral meningitis in children.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the diagnostic role of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) ferritin and albumin index (AI = CSF albumin/serum albumin × 1000) in differentiating acute bacterial meningitis (ABM) from acute viral meningitis (AVM) in children. METHODS: The study included 42 cases each of ABM and AVM in pediatric age group. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was carried out for CSF ferritin and AI. Binary logistic regression was also done. RESULTS: CSF ferritin and AI were found significantly higher in ABM compared to AVM. Model obtained using AI and CSF ferritin along with conventional criteria is better than existing models.