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Objective: It is assessed whether the measurement of interleukin-6 in the cerebrospinal fluid can serve as a biomarker for the diagnosis
of bacterial meningitis. Methodology: Cerebrospinal fluid was obtained from 152 patients aged 0-15 years suspected of having
meningitis. These patients were classified into the following groups: Bacterial meningitis (n = 85), aseptic meningitis (n = 35) and
non-meningitis/control (n = 32) based on leukocyte count and bacterial identification by culture and molecular biology.
Interleukin-6 concentrations in cerebrospinal fluid were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results: This study found
a significant difference of the mean cerebrospinal fluid interleukin-6 level (p≤0.01) between patients with bacterial meningitis
(3,538.69±2,560.78 pg mL–1) and patients with aseptic meningitis (332.51±470.69 pg mL–1) or those of the control group
(205.83±79.39 pg mL–1). There was also a significant difference of the mean cerebrospinal fluid interleukin-6 level between patients with
aseptic meningitis and those of the control group. Interleukin-6 had the highest area under the ROC curve: 0.94 (95% confidence interval:
0.901-0.979) compared to that of cerebrospinal fluid glucose and total protein. At a cut-off value of 1,065.96 pg mL–1, interleukin-6 had
a sensitivity of 76.2% and specificity of 100%. Conclusion: Interleukin-6 is a potential biomarker for the differential diagnosis of meningitis.
