Twenty years of pediatric tuberculous meningitis: a retrospective cohort study in the western cape of South Africa.

Objective: Tuberculous meningitis is the most severe extrapulmonary complication of tuberculosis, with high morbidity and mortality rates. The objective of this study was to assess the relationship between presenting clinical characteristics and outcome of pediatric tuberculous meningitis.

Patients And Methods: We present a retrospective cohort study of all of the children diagnosed with tuberculous meningitis in a large university hospital in South Africa between January 1985 and April 2005.