Objective To investigate the characteristics of the pathogens isolated from the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and the prognosis of the adult patients with central venous system (CNS) infection, and to provide the basis for disease treatment. Methods The clinical data and findings of the laboratory examination of the patients, who were admitted to West China Hospital of Sichuan University from January 2014 to September 2016, and suffered from CNS infection with the positive results of CSF culture, were retrospectively analyzed. The species distribution and in-vitro susceptibility of the pathogens and hospital mortality were analyzed. Results A total of 157 cases, involving 87 (55.4%) community-acquired cases and 70 (44.6%) hospital-acquired cases, were included. One hundred and fifty-eight strains of the pathogens were isolated from the CSF specimens of these patients, including 73 isolates (46.2%) of gram negative bacteria, 64 isolates (40.5%) of fungus, and 21 isolates (13.3%) of gram positive bacteria. In terms of species distribution,Cryptococcus neoformans was the predominant (62/87, 71.3%) species isolated from the patient with community-acquired infection, whileAcinetobacter calcoaceticus-A. baumannii complex (31/71, 43.7%) was the predominant specie from the patients with hospital-acquired infection. Analysis of the resistance phenotypes showed that all theC. neoformans isolates were susceptible to the antifungal agents. More than 90% ofA. calcoaceticus- A. Baumannii complex isolates were resistant to the regular antibiotics. The resistant rates ofK. pneumoniae isolates to the regular antibiotics were no more than 25%. The hospital mortality of the groups infected by gram-negative bacteria, fungi, and gram-positive bacteria were 52.3% (38/72), 32.8% (21/64), and 19.0% (4/21), respectively. There was statistical difference for the hospital mortality among these groups (P=0.006). Conclusion In our hospital,C. neoformans are the common species isolated from CSF of the patients with community-acquired CNS infection. Gram negative bacilli are commonly isolated from CSF of the hospital-acquired cases. The mortality of patients with gram negative bacilli is high.
Objective To develop a novel prediction model based on cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) lactate for early identification of high-risk central nervous system (CNS) infection patients in the emergency setting. Methods Patients diagnosed with CNS infections admitted to the Department of Emergency Medicine of West China Hospital, Sichuan University between January 1, 2020 and December 31, 2023 were retrospectively selected. Patients were classified into a survival group and a death group according to their 28-day survival status, and clinical characteristics were compared between groups. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to identify independent predictors of 28-day mortality, which were subsequently used to construct a nomogram. Results A total of 173 patients were included, comprising 135 in the survival group and 38 in the death group. Multivariate analysis identified the Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation Ⅳ (APACHE Ⅳ) score [odds ratio (OR)=1.027, 95% confidence interval (CI) (1.002, 1.055), P=0.034], CSF lactate [OR=1.147, 95%CI (1.025, 1.286), P=0.018], and interleukin-6 [OR=1.002, 95%CI (1.001, 1.004), P=0.002] as independent predictors of 28-day mortality. The integrated model combining APACHE Ⅳ score, CSF lactate, and interleukin-6, demonstrated superior predictive performance compared with the APACHE Ⅳ score alone (P=0.020), and showed good calibration (Hosmer-Lemeshow P=0.50). Conclusions This tool may provide a useful instrument for emergency physicians to assess the 28-day mortality risk in patients with CNS infections, potentially facilitating early and targeted interventions for high-risk individuals. However, as the findings of this study are derived from a single-center retrospective dataset, the clinical applicability of this model requires further external validation through large-scale, prospective, multicenter studies to evaluate its generalizability.