ABSTRACT The precise
diagnosis of
bacterial meningitis is essential. Cytological and biochemical examination of
cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) are not specific. Conventional
methods for
bacterial meningitis lack
sensitivity or take too long for a final result. Therefore, other
methods for rapid and accurate
diagnosis of
central nervous system infections are required. FilmArray
meningitis/
encephalitis (ME) panel is a PCR multiplex for simultaneous and rapid identification of 14 pathogens, including 6
bacteria, 7
viruses, and
Cryptococcus. We evaluated 436 CSF samples submitted to FilmArray ME Panel. Among them, 25 cases were positive for
bacteria, being
Streptococcus pneumonia the most frequent (48 %). Among positive cases for
bacteria, 60 % were positive only with FilmArray. All the
bacterial meningitis cases in which the only positive test was FilmArray had CSF findings suggestive of
bacterial meningitis, including neutrophilic
pleocytosis, increased CSF
protein and
lactate, and decreased CSF
glucose. These findings suggest that FilmArray may increase the diagnostic
sensitivity for
bacterial meningitis.