뇌척수액 백혈구 증가증이 없는 장바이러스 뇌수막염 소아들의 임상적 특징

Clinical Manifestation of Enteroviral Meningitis without Cerebrospinal Fluid (CSF) Pleocytosis in Children

The aim of this study was to investigate the factors associated with cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) pleocytosis in pediatric entero-viral meningitis. A retrospective analysis of the medical records was performed in 281 patients under 18 years of age who were diagnosed with enteroviral meningitis by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) at Kwangju Chris-tian Hospital from January to December 2016. Clinical symptoms and laboratory findings were compared according to the presence or absence of CSF pleocytosis. 112 children (39.9%) did not have CSF pleocytosis. When we compared the group of meningitis without pleocytosis and the group with pleocytosis, age were younger (< 2years), and the interval between onset of symptoms and the time of lumbar puncture was shorter (<24 hours), peripheral white blood cell counts were lower, but C-reactive protein (CRP) was higher in the group of meningitis without pleocytosis. Enteroviral meningitis should not be excluded even if CSF pleocytosis is not seen in patients. And enterovirus CSF RT-PCR should be performed with high sus-picion in children younger than 2 years.