Clinical research progress of tuberculous meningitis

Abstract

Tuberculous meningitis is an infectious disease of central nervous system caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis. It mainly invades into brain meninges and parenchyma, and may spread to the spinal cord and spinal meninges. The disability rate and mortality rate of this disease are very high. In recent years, incidence of tuberculosis increased significantly due to the increase of drug-resistant tuberculosis cases, population mobility, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) epidemic and other factors. Tuberculosis is still a worldwide serious threat to human life and health, especially in the underdeveloped and developing countries. China is the world's largest developing country with large population, so tuberculosis prevention and control is still a quite severe problem. In this paper, the clinical manifestations, diagnosis and differential diagnosis, treatment progress of tuberculous meningitis were reviewed systematically.

doi: 10.3969/j.issn.1672-6731.2014.08.004