Cerebrospinal fluid ferritin and albumin index: potential candidates for scoring system to differentiate between bacterial and viral meningitis in children.

Objectives: To evaluate the diagnostic role of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) ferritin and albumin index (AI = CSF albumin/serum albumin × 1000) in differentiating acute bacterial meningitis (ABM) from acute viral meningitis (AVM) in children.

Methods: The study included 42 cases each of ABM and AVM in pediatric age group. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was carried out for CSF ferritin and AI.