Prevalence of Pathogens in Cerebrospinal Fluid Obtained From Emergency Department Patients

Of all emergency room patients, persons presenting with encephalitis/meningitis syndrome of a potentially infectious nature are among those of greatest concern. Routine clinical and laboratory evaluation of such patients involves screening for known infectious disease agents, selection of which is nonstandardized. Progress in diagnostic technologies, especially molecular techniques based on genetic characteristics of potential pathogens, has greatly expanded the investigators capacity to evaluate specimens from patients for a much wider range of potential pathogens (bacterial, viral, fungal and parasitic agents). Use of Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) technology offers the possibility of identifying causative agents for the approximately 50% of all such presentations which go un-diagnosed. The investigators propose a study involving a collaboration between the EMERGEncy ID NET, a network of 10 geographically diverse university-affiliated urban emergency departments (coordinated by Olive View-UCLA Medical Center) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to use these new technologies to address this issue.

Study Overview

• Status: Terminated
• Conditions: Meningoencephalitis; Other Syndromes Requiring Lumbar Puncture in Emergency Department
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: no intervention

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Actual): 1000

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • California
    • Sylmar, California, United States, 91342
      • Olive View-UCLA Medical Center

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 3 months and older (Child, Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

This study will be conducted by the Emergency ID Net Study group (P.I. David Talan), which consists of a network of 10 emergency departments in university-affiliated hospitals throughout the United States.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Age > or = 3 months old
• Receiving a Lumbar Puncture in the emergency department as part of their standard care.

Exclusion Criteria:

• No CSF available

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Number of groups / cohorts

1

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort	Intervention / Treatment
Patients with syndromes requiring lumbar puncture	Other: no intervention

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
prevalence of pathogens	We will describe the range and proportion of pathogens found in CSF among patients enrolled over a 2 year period.	2 years

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Olive View-UCLA Education & Research Institute
• Collaborators: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: April 1, 2014
• Primary Completion (Actual): July 1, 2016
• Study Completion (Actual): December 1, 2021

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: July 31, 2014
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 1, 2014
• First Posted (Estimate): August 4, 2014

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): April 20, 2022
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 18, 2022
• Last Verified: April 1, 2022

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Pathologic Processes; Brain Diseases; Central Nervous System Diseases; Nervous System Diseases; Infections; Disease Attributes; Central Nervous System Viral Diseases; Central Nervous System Infections; Encephalitis; Meningitis; Emergencies; Meningoencephalitis
• Other Study ID Numbers: 12H-770352; U01CK000176 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)