KDD Challenge 2000

Guide to the meningoencephalitis Diagnosis Data Set

Background Knowledge for Meningitis

Menigitis:

Neurological Infectious Diseases. Some bacteria or virus is invaded in the dura sheet (covered the brain),which causes severe inflammation in dura.When the brain is inflamed, the patient is diagnosed as "meningoencephalitis". Sometimes when bacteria forms abscess in the brain, he/she is diagnosed as "brain abscess".

For more information, please refer to: Virtual Hospital

Diagnosis:

Usually, high fever and severe headache is observed. After, nausea and vomit are followed. If these symptoms and objective symptoms(neck stiffness, Kernig sign and Lasegue sign) are observed, Computer Tomography is applied and Lumbar puncture will be executed if there is no sign of brain edema.

Differential Diagnosis:

The differential diagnosis is made as follows:

(1)Check the cell count in Cerebulospinal fluid(CSF).

(2)If polynuclear cells are dominant, bacterial meningitis is diagnosed.
If mononuclear cells are dominant, viral meningitis is diagnosed.

(3)For diagnosis of brain abscess, CT will be used for
confirmation of diagnosis.

Therapy:

Bacterial: Antibiotics
Virus: In cases of Herpes, Zobirax and Ara_A used.
Otherwise, conservative.

Prognosis:

If the therapy is timely,the prognosis is good.
However in the case of encephalitis, a patient
suffers from some symptoms even after the treatment (sequelae).
(A well-known sequela is aphasia for Herpes encephalitis.

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For Analysis

Please find factors important for diagnosis (DIAG and DIAG2)
for detection of bacteria or virus
(CULT_FIND and CULTURE)
for predicting prognosis
(C_COURSE and COURSE)

Any knowledge extraction is welcome.

Information about Attributes

(Attributes labeled "*" are additional grouped attributes.)

Sample Size: 140
Attribute: 38

Categorical (18) 2,3,4,11,14,15,17,18,22,23,24,30,31,32,35,36,37,38
Rank (1) 13
Numerical (19) 1,5,6,7,8,9,10,12,16,19,20,21,25,26,27,28,29,
33,34

(1) Personal Information
1. AGE: age
2. SEX: sex

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(2) Diagnosis
3. DIAG: Diagnosis described in a database

ABSCESS: brain abscess
BACTERIA: bacterial meningitis
BACTERIA(E): bacterial meningoencephalitis
TB(E) : tuberculosis meningoenchephalitis
VIRUS: virus meningitis
VIRUS(E): virus meningoencephalitis
(If a patient of meningitis have some symptoms
of brain damage, he/she is diagnosed as
"meningoencephalitis".

*4. Diag2: Grouped Attribute of DIAG (Grouped)

BACTERIA: ABSCESS, BACTERIA, BACTERIA(E) and TB(E)
VIRUS: VIRUS, VIRUS(E)

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(3) Present History

5. COLD: Since when the patient has symptoms like common cold.
(0:negative)
6. HEADACHE:Since when he/she has a headache. (0:no headache)
7. FEVER: Since when he/she has a fever. (0:no fever)
8. NAUSEA: when nausea starts (0:no nausea)
9. LOC: when loss of consciousness starts (0: no LOC)
10. SEIZURE: when convulsion or epilepsy is observed (0: no)

11. ONSET: ACUTE
SUBACUTE
CHRONIC
RECURR: recurrent

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(4) Physical Examination at Admission

12. BT: Body Temperature
13. STIFF: Neck Stiffness
14. KERNIG: Kernig sign
15. LASEGUE:Lasegue sign
16. GCS: Glasgow Coma Scale (Score evaluating the degree of loss of
consciousness)

*Minimum 3: comatose Max 15: normal

17. LOC_DAT:loss of consciousness (-: negativeˇ˘ +: positive) (Grouped)

*Even in the case with GCS being 15, some patients are
drowsy. GCS will measure the score of eye opening,
utterance and movement after the order, and GCS cannot
detect a small disturbance of consciousness if the patients
can obey the order.

18. FOCAL: Focal sign (-: negativeˇ˘ +: positive) (Grouped)

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(5) Laboratory Examination at Admission

19. WBC: White Blood Cell Count
20. CRP: C-Reactive Protein
21. ESR: Blood Sedimentation Test
22. CT_FIND: CT Findings (Grouped)
23. EEG_WAVE: Electroencephalography(EEG) Wave Findings (Grouped)
24. EEG_FOCUS: Focal Sign in EEG
25. CSF_CELL: Cell Count in Cerebulospinal Fluid
26. Cell_Poly: Cell Count (Polynuclear cell) in CSF
27. Cell_Mono: Cell Count (Mononuclear cell) in CSF
28. CSF_PRO: Protein in CSF
29. CSF_GLU: Glucose in CSF
*30. CULT_FIND: Whether bacteria or virus is specified or not.
(T: found, F: not found) (Grouped)
31. CULTURE: The name of Bacteria or Virus (-: not found)

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(6) Therapy and Course

32. THERAPY2: Therapy

no_therapy: No therapy
ARA_A, Zobirax: anti-virus chemicals
INH: anti tuberculosis drug
multiple: Antibiotics changed several times
Other: names of antibiotics
(ABPC, CZX, FMOX, Dara_P,CTX, etc.)

33. CSF_CELL3: Cell Count CSF 3 days after the treatment
((Missing values included))

34. CSF_CELL7: Cell Cound of CSF 7 days after the treatment

35. C_COURSE: Clinical Course at discharge

negative: no symptoms
EEG_abnormal: the patient had abnormality of EEG
CT_abnormal: abnormality of CT
frontal_sign: frontal sign is observed.
attention: loss of attentions is observed.
aphasia: the patient cannot speak.
amnesia: retrograde amnesia
ataxia: motor disturbance is observed.
epilepsy: the patient suffered from epilepsy after discharge.
memory_loss: memory disturbance.
dead: death

*36. COURSE(Grouped): Grouped attribute of C_COURSE
(n:negative, p:positive)

37. RISK: Risk Factor

n: normal
LC: liver cirrhosis
bechet: bechet disease
sinusitis: chronic sinusitis
broncho: bronchial asthma
myeloma: multiple myeloma
hepatitis:
TB: tuberculosis
DM: Diabetes mellitus

*38. RISK(Grouped): Grouped attribute of RISK
(n:netative, p:positive)

Database

Database consists of a single table:

menindata-r.txt

Asked Questions

• question. (21.7.1999)
  answer.