LABORATORY DIAGNOSIS OF NEUROINFECTIOUS DISEASES- BASIC AND ADVANCE TESTS: MINI REVIEW

Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) analysis is the mainstay basic test for the diagnosis of central nervous system (CNS) infections. However advance tests like CSF molecular testing in combination with other basic tests, both in CSF and blood are important in the approach to diagnosis of CNS infections. Nowadays multiplex molecular tests have been developed which have less turnaround time enabling rapid reporting to the clinicians. This review has been done to discuss the basic and advance tests available for diagnosing neuroinfectious diseases. The source of data is from medline database search and google search engine and reference textbooks. New molecular multiplex panels like BIOFIRE assay have been developed to simultaneously detect a large array of neuropathogens in CSF. Detailed list of neuropathogens have been mentioned in this review with advantages/disadvantages of all basic and advance tests available to diagnose them in a tabulated format . A flowchart on the stepwise testing approach to diagnose CNS infections has been given. Laboratory diagnosis of neuroinfectious diseases- basic and advance tests: Mini review.