An unusual presentation of gross cerebral vascular dilatation in a TB/HIV co-infected individual

Abstract

Aneurysmal dilatation secondary to HIV vasculitis is well described being more common in patients under 45 years of age with advanced stage HIV infection (CD4 < 200 cells/µl). Tuberculous meningitis is far more common than previously anticipated with centres in Cape Town publishing that more than half of all cases of adult meningitis were secondary to tuberculosis. But aneurysmal dilatation of the cerebral vessels is exceedingly rare complication in this population. We report a 14-year-old male presenting to Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe Hospital in South Africa, with a first seizure and Tuberculous Meningitis. The patient was lost to follow-up with subsequent representation 2 years later with worsening clinical picture and imaging revealing marked anterior circulation aneurysmal dilatation. The patient was newly diagnosed as being HIV positive giving uncertainty of the aetiology of his vascular malformations. Aneurysmal dilatation in HIV associated cerebral vasculitis is rare. It is more frequently encountered in young adults with advanced disease who are severely immunocompromised. Tuberculous involvement in the central nervous system is thought to be due to secondary reactivation of quiescent foci of micro infection. Aneurysmal dilatation in the setting of Tuberculous Meningitis is infrequently reported in medical literature.