CSF pleocytosis

From IDWiki
  • Elevated white cell count in the CSF can be seen in a number of infectious and non-infectious processes
Baunbæk Egelund G, Ertner G, Langholz Kristensen K, Vestergaard Jensen A, Benfield TL, Brandt CT. Cerebrospinal fluid pleocytosis in infectious and noninfectious central nervous system disease: A retrospective cohort study. Medicine (Baltimore). 2017 May;96(18):e6686. doi: 10.1097/MD.0000000000006686. PMID: 28471963; PMCID: PMC5419909.
Cause N Cell Count (10E6/L)

Median [Range]

Infectious (60%)
Bacterial meningitis 177 1707 [30-54800]
Brain abscess 4 352 [22-828]
Cryptococcal meningitis 4 93 [19-467]
Encephalitis 48 117 [12-1580]
Endocarditis 9 61 [12-285]
Erysipelas 1 14
Fungal meningitis 3 682 [14-1947]
Herpes zoster 1 72
Acute HIV 4 47 [13-87]
Infection without focus 5 11 [10-64]
Infectious radiculitis 1 170
Influenza 1 12
Lyme neuroborreliosis 90 121 [10-1436]
Necrotizing fasciitis 1 13
Neurosyphilis 14 23 [10-123]
Peritonitis 1 13
PML 1 36
Pneumonia 22 12 [10-112]
Bacteremia 39 29 [10-300]
Spinal abscess 5 72 [10-82]
Subdural empyema 1 1480
Tonsillitis 1 10
Toxoplasmosis 2 131 [10-251]
Tuberculous meningitis 11 213 [12-576]
Ventricular shunt infection 7 287 [13-1186]
Viral meningitis 197 177 [10-1744]
Inflammatory (4%)
Acute transverse myelitis 7 65 [24-333]
Bell palsy 8 22 [17-60]
Brain vasculitis 7 33 [10-225]
Conus radiculitis 1 116
Elsberg syndrome 2 56 [24-88]
Transient headache and neurological deficits with cerebrospinal fluid lymphocytosis (HaNDL) 2 51 [35-67]
Mononeuritis multiplex 1 63
Neurosarcoidosis 3 27 [10-33]
Optic neuritis 0 27 [10-44]
Polyradiculitis 6 55 [11-82]
Reactive serositis 1 62
Syringomyelitis 1 141
Neurodegenerative (7%)
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis 1 13
Atypical parkinsonism 3 14 [10-28]
Dementia not otherwise specified 2 10 [10]
Demyelinating disease 67 19 [10-119]
Parkinson disease 1 17
Neoplastic (5%)
Acute lymphoblastic leukemia 2 35 [11-58]
Brain metastasis 7 69 [10-261]
Brain cancer 10 68 [18-1240]
Chronic leukemia 2 21 [15-27]
Disseminated cancer 9 20 [10-64]
Lymphoma 19 24 [10-1448]
Paraneoplastic syndrome not otherwise specified 4 23 [10-91]
Vascular (10%)
Arteriovenous malformation 1 72
Benign intracranial hypertension 1 10
Epidural hematoma 1 135
Sinus thrombosis 1 16
Stroke 52 58 [10-5650]
Subarachnoid hemorrhage 36 198 [10-7090]
Subdural hemorrhage 10 377 [10-9554]
Vascular dementia 1 19
Other (13%)
Anoxic brain injury 4 36 [15-129]
Aplastic anemia 1 12
Concussion 6 16 [14-46]
Alcohol use disorder 3 29 [12-40]
Seizure 28 32 [10-269]
Drug overdose 3 24 [13-28]
Encephalopathy not otherwise specified 2 72 [54-89]
Hepatic encephalopathy 2 17 [16-18]
Hydrocephalus 1 17
Hypoglycemia 2 12 [11-13]
Hyponatremia 3 27 [12-31]
Epidural anesthesia 2 258 [63-453]
Intravenous immune globulin 1 182
Metronidazole toxicity 1 10
Myelography 1 239
Ketoacidosis 2 101 [13-189]
Neck trauma 1 6460
Polyneuropathy 2 19 [10-35]
Prolapsed disc 4 26 [12-113]
Spinal stenosis 25 16 [10-74]
Traumatic hemorrhage 6 81 [10-2610]
Unknown 32 17 [10-4300]
Wernicke encephalopathy 1 11