BLOOD STAINED CEREBROSPINAL-FLUID RESPONSIBLE FOR FALSE-POSITIVE REACTIONS OF LATEX PARTICLE AGGLUTINATION TESTS

The accuracy of the latex particle agglutination test (LPAT) was asses sed in blood stained cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) specimens from 166 paed iatric patients, aged from three months to 13 years. A commercial LPAT kit was used to detect Haemophilus influenzae type b, Streptococcus p neumoniae, and Neisseria meningitidis A, B, and C soluble antigens. Cu lture of CSF specimens was used as the standard and all laboratory pro cedures were performed blind. The mean CSF erythrocyte count was 66 40 6 cells/mm(3) in the cases and 11 560 cells/mm(3) in the controls. The sensitivity and the specificity of LPAT were 83.8 and 94.0%, respecti vely, suggesting that LPAT is a useful diagnostic tool even in blood s tained CSF specimens.