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Cited by 287

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 15 of the 15 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

The Diagnostic Accuracy of Kernig’s Sign, Brudzinski’s Sign, and Nuchal Rigidity in Adults with Suspected Meningitis

Thomas, Karen E., Hasbun, Rodrigo, Jekel, James, Quagliarello, Vincent J.·2002·Clinical Infectious Diseases

Abstract

To determine the diagnostic accuracy of Kernig's sign, Brudzinski's sign, and nuchal rigidity for meningitis, 297 adults with suspected meningitis were prospectively evaluated for the presence of these meningeal signs before lumbar puncture was done. Kernig's sign (sensitivity, 5%; likelihood ratio for a positive test result [LR(+)], 0.97), Brudzinski's sign (sensitivity, 5%; LR(+), 0.97), and nuchal rigidity (sensitivity, 30%; LR(+), 0.94) did not accurately discriminate between patients with meningitis (>/=6 white blood cells [WBCs]/mL of cerebrospinal fluid [CSF]) and patients without meningitis. The diagnostic accuracy of these signs was not significantly better in the subsets of patients with moderate meningeal inflammation (>/=100 WBCs/mL of CSF) or microbiological evidence of CSF infection. Only for 4 patients with severe meningeal inflammation (>/=1000 WBCs/mL of CSF) did nuchal rigidity show diagnostic value (sensitivity, 100%; negative predictive value, 100%). In the broad spectrum of adults with suspected meningitis, 3 classic meningeal signs did not have diagnostic value; better bedside diagnostic signs are needed.

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  1. Jekel JF, Elmore JG, Katz DL. Epidemiology, biostatistics, and preventative medicine. Philadelphia: WB Saunders, 1996.

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Metadata

Authors
Thomas, K. E., Hasbun, R., Jekel, J., & Quagliarello, V. J.
Venue
Clinical Infectious Diseases
Published
2002-07
Volume
35
Issue
1
Pages
46-52
ISSN
  • 1058-4838 (ISSN-L)
  • 1537-6591
OpenAlex
W2102449742
Cited by
287
References
15
FWCI
5.40
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed

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CoChat. (2026). Citation check: The Diagnostic Accuracy of Kernig’s Sign, Brudzinski’s Sign, and Nuchal Rigidity in Adults with Suspected Meningitis. https://app.cochat.ai/papers/10.1086/340979
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Thomas, K. E., Hasbun, R., Jekel, J., & Quagliarello, V. J. (2002). The Diagnostic Accuracy of Kernig’s Sign, Brudzinski’s Sign, and Nuchal Rigidity in Adults with Suspected Meningitis. Clinical Infectious Diseases. https://doi.org/10.1086/340979

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Semantic Scholar’s data is described in: Kinney, R., et al. (2023). The Semantic Scholar Open Data Platform. arXiv:2301.10140.