Encephalitis is a serious disease for children, which can be big or small. After all, it concerns the brain. If left untreated, it may affect the child's future life and intelligence. Therefore, a series of tests are needed before treatment. So, what tests are needed for pediatric encephalitis?
The main examination method for encephalitis is to test cerebrospinal fluid. When a child has encephalitis, the following items are usually checked:
1. Blood count: 10000 to 20000 white blood cells, with increased neutrophils.
2. The pressure of cerebrospinal fluid is relatively high, the cell count is generally less than 0.2 × 109, and lymphocytes make up the majority. Sugar and chloride are normal.
3. Complement binding: Diagnosis can be confirmed if the titer of double serum increases by more than 4 times or if the titer of a single serum is 1:16 or higher.
4. Virus isolation: The virus is isolated from cerebrospinal fluid and serum, but the positivity rate is relatively low. After death, the virus can be isolated from brain tissue.
The total amount of cerebrospinal fluid in children is approximately 100 to 150 milliliters, and the pressure in a normal supine position is 70 to 180 millimeters of water column. The cerebrospinal fluid of newborns is actually only 5 milliliters, while the supine pressure is 30 to 80 millimeters of water column. The human body can completely regulate the volume of cerebrospinal fluid, so releasing a small amount of cerebrospinal fluid through lumbar puncture will not have any impact on the human body, so this method is very safe.
