Rapid diagnosis of infection by gas-liquid chromatography: analysis of sugars in normal and infected cerebrospinal fluid.

A highly reproducible procedure was developed for gas-liquid chromatographic analysis of trimethylsilyl derivatives of normal human cerebrospinal fluid. Fourteen normal human cerebrospinal fluid samples tested with this procedure contained alpha- and beta-glucose as well as isomers of two unidentified sugars. Chromatographic changes in three cases of meningeal inflammation (two cryptococcosis and one thalamic astrocytoma) were limited to decreased concentrations of all sugars. In one case of early meningitis, the concentrations of the unknown sugars decreased before glucose. Now that a reproducible chromatogram of the trimethylsilyl derivatives of normal human cerebrospinal fluid has been established, more samples of abnormal cerebrospinal fluid should be prepared by these methods and examined by gas-liquid chromatography. It may be possible to identify unique products of infectious agents which will permit rapid diagnosis of central nervous system infection.