Abstract
Chemokine CXCL13 is a strong chemoattractant for leukocytes in the CSF. It has been proven that CSF CXCL13 concentration is substantially elevated in the early stage of Lyme neuroborreliosis (LNB).
Its level is increased even before the specific antibodies are synthesized in this compartment. CXCL13 was proven to have high positive and negative diagnostic significance and this diagnostic attitude has not yet been included in a routine clinical diagnostic algorithm of LNB.
Two methods of chemokineCXCL13 detection in CSF were tested in two groups of patients with clinical manifestations of LNB and other aseptic neuroinfections: 1. semiquantitative immunochromatic method ReaScan CXCL13 rapid test and 2. quantitative method CXCL13/BLC/BCA-1 Quantikine ELISA. A high concordance of the results of these tests was verified using Cohen coefficient kappa (P < 0.001).
The ReaScan CXCL13 rapid test is easy to use and time-saving (20 min), therefore, it is suitable as an additional examination for routine early diagnostics of LNB. Proving CSF CXCL13 elevation enables quick antibiotic treatment, especially in cases where the local antibody synthesis has not been proven yet, which can be seen in the proposed diagnostic algorithm.