Movement disorders in 30 patients with tuberculous meningitis.

Background: Movement disorders may appear during tuberculous meningitis (TbM).

Objective: To investigate the variety of movement disorders seen in TbM and consider possible pathogenic mechanisms.

Design: We established two diagnostic categories for TbM: definite and probable. All patients were examined clinically and with laboratory tests, computed tomographic scan, or magnetic resonance imaging.

Setting: A university hospital in Quito, Ecuador.

Results: Thirty of 180 consecutively studied patients with TbM developed movement disorders. Twenty-four months after treatment was completed, we determined a prognosis for the patients. Seven patients had chorea, three dystonia, and 20 tremor. One of the patients with tremor also had myoclonus and one with dystonia had tremor. The average age of the patients with chorea was lower than that of the patients with dystonia and tremor. Two patients with chorea, one with dystonia, and three patients with tremor died. The patients with chorea and dystonia had more severe disease. We found little correlation between the type, distribution, or severity of abnormal movements and the computed tomography scan or magnetic resonance image findings.

Conclusions: Tremor is the most common movement disorder seen in the course of TbM. Chorea is more frequently found in young children. Deep vascular lesions are more common among patients with movement disorders.