Jolt accentuation of headache: can this maneuver rule out acute meningitis?

OBJECTIVE: Acute meningitis is a medical emergency and its accurate diagnosis could help physicians to accelerate treatment and reduce the mortality and morbidity of patients. Jolt accentuation of headache (Jolt) is an easy clinical maneuver that can be used to diagnose meningitis, but its diagnostic accuracy is controversial. We aimed to assess the “Jolt maneuver” in diagnosis of suspected acute meningitis patients admitted to the emergency ward of Imam-Khomeini Hospital Complex in Tehran, Iran. RESULTS: Out of 250 patients, 227 were included and 64 (28.2%) had cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) changes compatible with meningitis. Jolt was positive in 40 of 64 (62.5%) meningitis patients. Sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative likelihood ratio (+ LR and − LR) of Jolt were 62.5, 88.3%, 5.36 and 0.42, respectively. These indices were also compared to nuchal rigidity, Kernig’s and Brudzinski’s signs. The highest + LR was for Kernig’s sign (6.79) and the lowest − LR was for nuchal rigidity (0.39). CSF culture was positive in two patients (Streptococcus pneumoniae and Aspergillus sp.). We found that in adult patients with fever and acute headache, a positive Jolt maneuver has a good diagnostic accuracy for diagnosis of meningitis and indicates a need for CSF assessment, but negative results cannot exclude it.