Delayed diagnosis of tuberculous meningitis in a pregnant Nigerian: A case report

Tuberculous meningitis (TBM) is the most severe form of tuberculosis and is commoner in those with immunsuppression. Diagnosis continues to be difficult particularly in resource limited settings, and this may be truer in the setting of pregnancy. We report the case of a pregnant Nigerian who was diagnosed late with atypical features of TBM complicated by cerebral infarction. High index of suspicion and early administration of anti-tuberculous medications as daily therapy according to the national treatment guidelines: 600 mg Rifampicin, 300 mg Isoniazid, 1.2 g Pyrazinamide and 800 mg Ethambutol plus 50 mg pyridoxine and 0.4 mg/kg body weight/day dexamethasone which was tapered weekly led to a slow but sustained clinical improvement. The relationship between pregnancy, susceptibility to TBM and presenting features of TBM requires further exploration. Clinicians should also be aware of atypical presentation of TBM in pregnancy, and the suspicion of TBM may be sufficient grounds to initiate empirical anti-tuberculous therapy. (C) 2013 Asian-African Society for Mycobacteriology. All rights reserved.