Serum antioxidant status of bilirubin, albumin, uric acid, and creatinine in patients with meningitis

Objective: Oxidative stress, closely related to inflammation, plays an important role in the pathophysiology of central nervous system infections. Low levels of antioxidant indicators, including albumin and uric acid (UA), in meningitis have been reported in previous studies. However, there are no studies comprehensively clarifying the changes of common serum endogenous antioxidants in meningitis and comparing them in different types of meningitis, such as bacterial meningitis (BM), tuberculous meningitis (TM), and viral meningitis (VM). Methods: The current study aimed to explore changes in common serum endogenous antioxidants in different types of meningitis. This study collected clinical characteristics and serum total bilirubin (Tbil), albumin, UA, and creatinine levels in 220 common meningitis patients and 238 healthy controls (HC). The collected information was analyzed. Results: It was found that serum albumin, UA, and creatinine levels were lower in meningitis patients than in HC. Moreover, serum albumin and UA were the lowest in BM, followed by TM and VM. There were no significant changes in serum Tbil levels. Furthermore, women showed lower serum endogenous antioxidants levels than men, both in meningitis and HC groups. Multivariate logistic analysis showed that albumin, UA, and creatinine were relevant factors for meningitis after separately adjusting for age and gender. Conclusion: Patients with meningitis have low levels of serum albumin, UA, and creatinine, indicating low serum antioxidant states in meningitis. Moreover, serum albumin and UA tend to be lower in BM, followed by TM and VM. Changes in serum Tbil, however, remain uncertain.