Jornal de Neurociências e Pesquisa Clínica

Meningeal Signs – It’s Validity in Suspected Meningitis

Kumar M, Das B and Kumar D

Background: Meningitis, an inflammation of meninges, a common medical emergency. Meningeal signs like Kernig’s sign, Brudzinski’s sign, and neck rigidity are used specifically to assess a patient’s with suspected meningitis. However, these signs are not pathognomonic for meningitis. The aim of study is to validate the meningeal signs in 75 adults with suspected meningitis. Methods: Seventy-five patients admitted to our tertiary hospital with suspected meningitis were selected and divided into two groups: Patients with meningitis (n=62) and Patients without meningitis (n=13). Meningitis was considered to be present if the CSF WBC count was ≥ 6/cmm. The three meningeal signs Kernig’s sign, Brudzinski’s sign and nuchal rigidity noted in each patient prior to lumber puncture. The sensitivity, specificity and P-value calculated. Results: Demography and clinical presentation of patients with meningitis (n=62) were similar to those without meningitis (n=13). Meningeal signs - Of the 62 patients with meningitis (WBCs/cmm of CSF ≥ 6) who were examined prior to lumbar puncture, neck rigidity in 46 (74.2%), Kernig’s sign in 37 (59.68%) and Brudzinski’s sign in 18 (29.03%) patients. None of the meningeal signs shown to have statistical significance (P