Clinically distinguishing acute bacterial meningitis from cerebral malaria, both of which are important causes of acute non-traumatic coma associated with morbidity and mortality among paediatric hospital admissions in malaria endemic areas of Africa, is challenging. Few hospitals have diagnostic capacity for distinguishing the two syndromes resulting in broader antibiotic cover than necessary. A biochemical marker of ABM would facilitate precise clinical diagnosis and management of these infections. In this study, we used Label-free protein quantification by mass spectrometry to identify components of the CSF protein expression profiles of children with ABM that distinguish from those with CM with a high degree of specificity and sensitivity and that could be developed into point-of-care tests. James M. Njunge, Ian N. Oyaro, Nelson K. Kibinge, Martin K. Rono, Symon Kariuki, Charles R. Newton, James A. Berkley, Evelyn Gitau