TUBERCULOUS MENINGITIS;

Background: Central nervous system (CNS) tuberculosis constitutes 6% of alltuberculosis cases and tuberculous meningitis (TBM) is the most serious manifestation. Despiteeffective anti-tuberculous medicines, 20-50% of tuberculous patients die and significant numberof patients have neurological deficits. Failure to initiate anti-tuberculous therapy in the earlystages of the disease may lead to significant morbidity and mortality. Setting: MW-1, MW-III andMW-IV of Bahawal Victoria hospital Bahawalpur. Methods: All patients of tuberculous meningitisdiagnosed on the basis of the clinical criteria and cerebrospinal fluid examination (WBC ≥15,predominant lymphocytes and sugar level ≤40 mg/dl) were included in the study. Age, gender,and GCS level of the patients were recorded. Every patient was observed for mortality withintwo weeks after admission (within ward or enquired on mobile phone if patient was dischargedearly). Results: A total of 73 patients were included in the study. The mean age of patientswas 36.71 years with standard deviation of 17.161 years. Out of 73 patients, 31 (42.47%)patients were male and 42 (57.53%) were female. Out of 73 patients, 12 (16.44%) patients oftuberculous meningitis had mortality while 61 (83.56%) patients had no mortality. Conclusion:Tuberculous meningitis is a chronic illness with relatively high mortality and morbidity. Low levelof consciousness on admission to hospital is an important predictor for mortality.