Premium
Chronic mycotic meningitis with spinal involvement (arachnoiditis): A report of five cases
Author(s) -
Stein Sherman C.,
Corrado Michael L.,
Friedlander Marvin,
Farmer Peter
Publication year - 1982
Publication title -
annals of neurology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 4.764
H-Index - 296
eISSN - 1531-8249
pISSN - 0364-5134
DOI - 10.1002/ana.410110512
Subject(s) - medicine , arachnoiditis , meningitis , spinal cord , surgery , aspergillosis , immunology , psychiatry
Five patients developed mycotic spinal arachnoiditis‐meningitis causing signs and symptoms of spinal cord neoplasm. Four had cryptococcal infection, the fifth had aspergillosis. In three patients, diagnosis was made at surgery; all three developed acute fungal meningitis postoperatively and two died. The diagnosis was made nonsurgically in two patients and was followed by medical cure. These five and twelve other reported patients with mycotic spinal arachnoiditis shared features that suggested the diagnosis. In contrast to most patients with spinal tumors, those reported here tended to be young (mean age, 32 years), to lack evidence for a primary tumor, and to have a fluctuating history of spinal symptoms for several months. Frequent associated findings were recent pregnancy; the abuse of alcohol, narcotis, or both; and the presence of headache and fever. Plain roentgenogrms of the spine were normal. No single finding was diagnostic, but the combination of several would be rare with spinal tumor.