Spinal cord involvement in tuberculous meningitis: a case report and brief review of literature

Abstract

Introduction: Tuberculosis (TB) continues to pose a significant public health problem worldwide. Tuberculous meningitis (TBM) is the most devastating form of extrapulmonary TB however other forms of central nervous system (CNS) disease include tuberculoma and spinal arachnoiditis. TBM carries high mortality even for a patient who is already receiving treatment. The difficulty in diagnosis often leads to a delay in treatment and subsequent mortality. The emergence of Xpert ultra has improved the rapid detection of MTB and rifampicin resistance in CSF and is the preferred diagnostic tool in TBM. Case: In this case report we present a 33years patient of concern who presented with progressive lower limb weakness associated with pain and paresthesia for 4 months, admitted via the Orthopedic unit with a diagnosis of spinal mass (meningioma, neurofibroma, or nerve sheath tumor) for which biopsy was done and revealed a chronic inflammatory process, necrotic bone lesions with no granulomas and no malignancy, he was later diagnosed with tuberculous meningitis and promptly started anti-tuberculous therapy with a dramatic recovery and improvement in neurological function. Conclusion: Tuberculous meningitis conditions have high morbidity and mortality yet diagnosis and start of treatment continue to experience an important delay. Clinicians should keep in mind the limitations of clinical presentation due to pleiotropy and current diagnostics and should employ a combination of diagnostic modalities in addition to a high index of suspicion to prevent morbidity in patients with TBM.