Friday, February, 10, 2012

CSF chemistry

Table of Contents

Alternative Names

Cerebrospinal fluid analysis


Normal Values
  • Antibodies and DNA of common viruses: None
  • Bacteria: No bacteria grows in a lab culture
  • Cancerous cells: No cancerous cells present
  • Cell count: less than 5 white blood cells (all mononuclear) and 0 red blood cells
  • Chloride: 110 to 125 mEq/L
  • Fungus: None
  • Glucose: 50 to 80 mg/100 mL (or greater than two-thirds of blood sugar level)
  • Glutamine: 6 to 15 mg/dL
  • Lactate dehydrogenase: less than 2.0 to 7.2 U/mL
  • Oligoclonal bands: 0 or 1 bands that are not present in a matched serum sample
  • Protein: 15 to 60 mg/100 dL

Note: Normal value ranges may vary slightly among different laboratories. Talk to your doctor about the meaning of your specific test results.


What abnormal results mean

An abnormal CSF analysis result may be due to many different causes, including:

  • Cancer
  • Encephalitis (such as West Nile and Eastern Equine)
  • Hepatic encephalopathy
  • Infection
  • Inflammation
  • Reye syndrome
  • Meningitis due to bacteria, fungus, tuberculosis, or a virus


Review Date: 06/24/2009
Reviewed By: David C. Dugdale, III, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of General Medicine Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine; and Daniel B. Hoch, PhD, MD, Assistant Professor of Neurology, Harvard Medical School, Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org)