CSF coccidioides complement fixation

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Blood test

Coccidioides antibody test - spinal fluid

• Risks of lumbar puncture include:
  • Hypersensitivity (allergic) reaction to the anesthetic
  • Discomfort during the test
  • Headache after the test
  • Bleeding into the spinal canal
• Brain herniation (if performed on a person with increased intracranial pressure ), resulting in brain damage and/or death
• Damage to the spinal cord (particularly if the person moves during the test)

This test may also be done as a blood test. See also: Coccidioides complement fixation.

In the initial stage of an illness, few antibodies may be detected. Antibody production increases during the course of an infection. For this reason, such tests are often repeated several weeks after the first test is done.

Note: While an abnormal result on the spinal fluid test specifically means that the central nervous system is infected, an abnormal result on the blood test does not pinpoint the exact area of infection. It only means that there is a Coccidioides infection somewhere in the body.

Review Date: 06/10/2005
Reviewed By: Eleftherios Mylonakis, M.D., Division of Infetious Disease, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.