Validity of blood culture compared to CSF culture in the diagnosis of CNS infection in children below 3 years | ||||
| Aswan University Medical Journal | ||||
| Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript, Available Online from 26 August 2025 | ||||
| Document Type: Original Article | ||||
| DOI: 10.21608/aumj.2025.398237.1247 | ||||
 View on SCiNiTO | ||||
| Authors | ||||
Leila Youssef Mohamed  ; mohamed bahaa elamir howary; Khaled Abdelhai mohamed
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| Pediatric department, Faculty of Medicine, Aswan University | ||||
| Abstract | ||||
| Background: CSF culture is the gold standard for the diagnosis of bacterial meningitis and is positive in 80 – 90% of patients with bacterial meningitis before the start of treatment. However, if the patient has received intravenous antibiotics; the CSF culture can be sterile. Blood cultures identify the causative organism in 50 – 80% of patients. Abnormal cerebrospinal fluid parameters are often employed to anticipate neonatal meningitis and to determine the course of antibiotic treatment in neonates with a positive blood culture and a negative CSF culture. Objectives: To assess the association between CSF and blood cultures in children aged ≤3 years with suspected CNS infection. Methodology: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 100 children presented to Aswan University Hospital with clinical suspicion of CNS infection during the period from May 2023 to April 2024. Results: There was a concordance between CSF and blood culture in only 2 cases (33.33%) of 6 cases with positive CSF culture. Blood culture had 33.33% sensitivity, 73.40% specificity, 7.41% PPV, 94.52% NPV, and 71% overall accuracy for CNS infection compared to CSF culture. Conclusion: These findings suggest an insufficient degree of agreement between CSF and blood culture results. | ||||
| Keywords | ||||
| CNS Infection; blood culture; CSF culture; Concordance | ||||
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