Neurological complications after tuberculous meningitis in a multi-state cohort in the United States

Alexander E. Merkler, Alexandra S. Reynolds, Gino Gialdini, Nicholas A. Morris, Santosh B. Murthy, Kiran Thakur, Hooman Kamel

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

34 Scopus citations

Abstract

Background and purpose To assess the rate of neurological complications and mortality after tuberculous meningitis in the United States. Methods The authors performed a retrospective cohort study of all patients 18 years or older hospitalized for tuberculous meningitis in California between 2005 and 2010, New York between 2006 and 2012, and Florida between 2005 and 2012. Outcomes of interest were mortality and the following neurological complications: stroke, seizure, hydrocephalus requiring a ventriculoperitoneal shunt, vision impairment, and hearing impairment. Kaplan–Meier survival statistics were used to assess the cumulative rate of neurological complications and death. Cox proportional hazards regression was used to compare rates of complications in patients with and without human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) after adjustment for comorbidities. Results 806 patients with tuberculous meningitis were identified, among whom the cumulative rate of any complication or death was 55.4% (95% CI, 51.5–59.3%). More than two-thirds of complications occurred during the initial hospitalization for tuberculous meningitis. Individual neurological complications were not uncommon: the cumulative rate of stroke was 16.8% (95% CI, 14.0–20.0%), the rate of seizure was 18.8% (95% CI, 15.4–22.8%), and the rate of ventriculoperitoneal shunting was 8.4% (95% CI, 6.4–10.9%). Vision impairment occurred in 21.6% (95% CI, 18.5–25.1%) of patients and hearing impairment occurred in 6.8% (95% CI, 4.9–9.4%). The mortality rate was 21.5% (95% CI, 18.4–24.9%). Patients with HIV infection were not at increased risk of complications compared to patients without HIV (hazard ratio, 1.2; 95% CI, 0.9–1.6). Conclusions Tuberculous meningitis is associated with significant risk of neurological complications and death in the United States.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)460-463
Number of pages4
JournalJournal of the Neurological Sciences
Volume375
DOIs
StatePublished - 15 Apr 2017
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Outcome studies
  • Seizure
  • Stroke
  • Tuberculous meningitis
  • United States
  • Ventriculoperitoneal shunt

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