Enhancing the cytological features and diagnostic significance of cerebrospinal fluid in bacterial meningitis

The objective of this study was to investigate the cytological features and diagnostic significance of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in bacterial meningitis (BM). Patients diagnosed with BM at the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University Hospital between August 2021 and April 2022 were enrolled. Clinical, cranial imaging, CSF-next-generation sequencing, CSF examination, and CSF cytology data were retrospectively analyzed. CSF cytology samples were prepared using a CSF cell pelletizer (precipitation method) and stained using the May–Grunwald–Glemsa (MGG) method. The χ2 test was employed to compare the positive rate of routine CSF count and CSF cytology. Eight patients (four males and four females), aged 41–67 years, were included. Among them, two patients had undergone brain surgery within the past 4 months, one patient had an 8-year history of otitis media, and two patients had a history of sudden toothache. Clinical manifestations included fever, headache, sudden disturbance of consciousness, and neck stiffness. CSF cytology revealed abnormal inflammatory changes dominated by neutrophils in seven patients. Routine CSF cell counts exceeded 100/uL in only four cases, indicating a higher positive rate of CSF cytology for detecting CSF inflammatory reactions compared to routine cell count. Comparative detection of bacteria through the observation of CSF cytology inflammatory status in BM patients are more useful for diagnosing BM than routine CSF counts.