Levels of cerebrospinal fluid and serum acetylcholinesterase in Tuberculous and pyogenic meningitis in children

Abstract

Total acetylcholinesterase activity (AChE) was estimated in CSF and serum of 163 cases, comprising of 64 cases of Tuberculous meningitis (TBM), 60 cases of pyogenic meningitis (PM) and 30 control in the paediatric age group. Mean CSF-AChE levels were 7.94±0.38, 9.06±0.16 and 9.80±0.30 unit/ml (Mean±S.E.) in Control, TBM and PM respectively. The respective serum AChE levels were 2.65±0.13, 3.18±0.07 and 3.93±0 0.035 units/ml. The ratio of CSF/serum-AChE in three groups were 3.09±0.137 (Mean±S.E.), 2.88±0.087, 2.98±0.092 in control, TBM and PM respectively. The values in both CSF as well as in serum in patient with TBM and in PM were significantly higher as compared to controls. However, the differences between the mean CSF-AChE and serum-AChE levels and CSF-AChE/serum-AChE were insignificant. Thus, though AChE levels are raised in meningitis, they are not helpful in differentiating TBM from PM.