International Journal of Tropical Medicine
ISSN: Online 1818-779XISSN: Print 1816-3319
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Abstract
Tuberculous meningitis, one of the most common chronic infections of the central nervous system, had emerged as a significant cause of meningitis in Egypt. In this study we assess the epidemiology, clinical characteristics, mortality and laboratory features of tuberculous meningitis in patients during the enhanced meningitis surveillance 1998-2003. Retrospectively, we reviewed the data of 134 immunocompetent patients with culture positive Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection. The overall case fatality rate for patients with tuberculous meningitis was 47%. It was significantly higher (p< 0.001), than that for all other causes of bacterial meningitis (21.3%). The median age of cases was 23 years. They were 49.6% males and 57.5% of cases occurred in patients>20 years of age. The characteristic cerebrospinal fluid findings, included moderately elevated leucocytes count (median: 175 mm 3), decreased glucose (median: 30 mg dL 1), elevated protein (median: 105 mg dL 1) and proportion of lymphocytes % (median: 30). Patients had long prodromal period>5 days (65%) and low or moderate grade fever (= 38°C) was found in 70%. Tuberculous meningitis has emerged as a significant cause of bacterial meningitis in Egypt. Rapid diagnosis and earlier initiation of therapy is important to avoid the high risk of mortality or disabling neurologic sequelae.
How to cite this article:
F.G. Youssef , S.A. Afifi , A.M. Azab , A.O. Saeid and T.M. Parker . Emergence of Tuberculous Meningitis in Egypt as an Important Public Health Problem During a Five-Year Surveillance (1998-2003).
DOI: https://doi.org/10.36478/ijtmed.2007.16.20
URL: https://www.makhillpublications.co/view-article/1816-3319/ijtmed.2007.16.20