All issues > Volume 26(3); 1983

Original Article

J Korean Pediatr Soc. 1983;26(3):213-219. Published online March 31, 1983.

CNS Lesions in Tuberculous Meningitis.

Hee Young Shin¹, Jung Hwan Choi¹, Jeong Kee Seo¹, Kyung Mo Yeon¹, Kwang Wook Ko¹, Hahn Woong Choe²

¹Department of Pediatrics, college of medicine, Seoul, National University,Korea.
²Department of pathology, college of medicine, Seoul, National University,Korea.

Abstract

Clinical features of 20 patients who were diagnosed as tuberculous meningitis at Seoul National University Hospital from Jan. ’82 to Dec. ’82 were analyzed with special respect to their computed tomographic findings of the brain. Age at the onset of the disease ranged from 7 month. to 12 9/12 year with the mean age of 3 11/12 year. Fifteen cases were under 6 years of age. Male to female ratio was 12:8. Initial clinical manifestations were headache and vomiting in 4 cases, convulsion in 6, loss of consciousness in 4, paralysis of facal muscle and extremities in 5 and abnormal behavior in 1 case. Neurologic examination revealed elear consciouaness in 6 cases, stuperous in 6, semi-comatose in 4, comatose in 4 cases. CSF pressure was elevated in 19 cases and among them neck stiffness was noted only in 13 cases. CSF protein was elevated in 1 cases with the mean value of 112.9 mg/dl. Tuberculin test was positive in 15 cases. In 2 patients whose CSF protein was not elevated and tuberculin test was negative, chest X-ray showed miliary tuberculosis. Chest X-ray showed associated primary tuberculosis in 4 cases, miliary tuberculosis in 4 cases. Computed tomography of the brain showed oblieration of the basal cistern in 3 cases, abnormal intense contrast enhancement of the basal cistern in 2, tuberculoma in the basal ganglia in 4, tubercuoma in the cerebellum in 3, tuberculoma in the parietal lobe in 1, ventricular dilltation in 12, and cerebral infarction in 3 cases.

Keywords :Tuberculous Meningitis; Brain C-T