Cerebrospinal fluid xanthochromia in acute bacterial meningitis as a red herring for subarachnoid haemorrhage: A case report.

Abstract

This article presents a case that highlights the importance of excluding underlying intracranial pathology in a patient presenting with severe headache and positive xanthochromia. This case report demonstrated that false-positive xanthochromia without subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH) is possible in acute bacterial meningitis when there is a combination of traumatic lumbar puncture and either hyperbilirubinaemia or raised cerebrospinal fluids (CSF) protein.