Health Dictionary
Reliable, easy-to-read patient information on common medical conditions — written in plain language, free of jargon, and grounded in current evidence. Browse the most frequent diagnoses, understand what they mean for everyday life, and learn which steps and questions help you have a focused conversation with your doctor.
Lactate in the Liquor
Introduction
The concentration of lactate in the cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) or liquor correlates with its concentration in blood. Determining the lactate in the CSF is critical in differential diagnosis of bacterial or virus meningitis: in bacterial meningitis the value is always over 3.33 mmol/L, and in viral meningitis is less than 2.78 mmol/L.
Differential Diagnosis
Differential Diagnosis
In alphabetical order. [1] [2]
Increased
- Bacterial Meningitis
- Brain abscess
- Brain metastases
- Brain tumor
- Fungal meningitis
- Head trauma
- Intracranial bleeding
- Increased intracranial pressure
- Ischemic insult or reduced perfusion to the brain
- Multiple sclerosis
- Seizures
- Syncope
- Viral meningitis (but less)
References
References
Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]