Neuromeningeal tuberculosis: clinical, paraclinical, therapeutic and evolutionary profile of 21 patients

The purpose of this study was to investigate the epidemiological, clinical, paraclinical, therapeutic and evolutionary profile of patients with neuromeningeal tuberculosis. We conducted a retrospective study of 21 patients with neuromeningeal tuberculosis hospitalized in the Neurological Department between January 2002 and December 2016. Women were slightly more represented than men (SR=0.9), the age group between 20 and 40 years (47.61%) was predominant. The mean time between symptom onset and diagnosis was 25 days. Inaugural symptoms mainly included common signs (100%). Neurological signs included headache (61.90%), vomiting (47.61%) and motor deficit (33.33%). Lumbar puncture and brain CT scan were performed in 100% of cases. All patients received antibiotic therapy and corticosteroids. Outcome was favorable in 61.90% of cases, fatal in 9.52% of cases and marked by the persistence of neurological sequelae in 28.57% of cases. Neuromeningeal tuberculosis is an extremely polymorphic disease in its clinical and radiological manifestation. Early diagnosis and management is mainly associated with a favorable outcome.