The use of Kernig’s and Brudzinski’s sign in determining Meningitis: A Review

Objective: Assess the diagnostic value of Kernig’s and Brudzinski’s signs in determining meningitis among individuals aged 18 to 64. Design: Systematic literature review. Methods: Searches done in PubMed utilizing the terms Kernig and Brudzinski. In PubMed, studies were excluded if not in English, older than 2000 or done on animals, and meta-analyses. Results: Three studies were found including Nakao JH, et al, Thomas KE, et al, and Waghdhare S, et al. Conclusion: Kernig’s and Brudzinski’s signs have high specificity but yield a low sensitivity in determining meningitis. They are great tools to be utilized by medical providers, but only support the diagnosis of meningitis when positive