Fluid Administration, Brain Edema, and Cerebrospinal Fluid Lactate andGlucose Concentrations in Experimental Escherichia coli Meningitis

• Published in: The Journal of infectious diseases 1993-08, Vol.168 (2), p.473-473
• Main Authors: Täuber, Martin G., Sande, Eric, Fournier, Michael A., Tureen, Jay H., Sande, Merle A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0022-1899; 1537-6613
• DOI: 10.1093/infdis/168.2.473

The effect of no fluids versus liberal fluid supplementation on brain edema and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) lactate and glucose concentrations was compared in rabbits with experimental Escherichia coli meningitis. Fluid restriction for the duration of the experiment (19 h) led to a decrease in body weight by ∼5%, while the high fluid regimen increased body weight by ∼5%. Infected animals developed brain edema compared with controls, but the fluid regimen had no measurable effect on the degree of edema. In contrast, fluid-restricted animals had significantly higher CSF lactate and lower CSF glucose concentrations than fluid-supplemented animals (lactate, 13.5 ± 3.5 vs. 10.1 ± 3.3 mmol/L; glucose, 1.89 ± 1.39 vs. 4.11 ± 1.39 mmol/L). These results fail to support the hypothesis that administration of large amounts of fluid in this model of gram-negative bacterial meningitis aggravates brain edema.