[The rapid differential diagnosis of bacterial and viral meningitis by using the lysozyme test].

The authors have modified the technique of the lysozyme test by adding polimixin M sulfate into the gel bacterial medium. Rapid diagnosis with the use of this test is based on different time of the appearance of the lysis areas: in bacterial meningitides the CSF lysozyme activity is detectable within 15-120 min, whereas in viral meningitides it manifests 40-50 min later or does not manifest at all. The results were found to depend on the time of the CSF collection: the earlier the CSF samples were obtained, the higher was the share of positive results.