[Tuberculous meningitis in children]

Tuberculous meningitis in children is a rare disease and develops in the absence of the current complex of measures aimed at tuberculosis prophylaxis. In 62.7% of children the disease had a gradual course beginning with a prodromal period with infectious-toxic symptoms being predominant over meningeal and encephalitic ones. Basal localization of the process with cranial nerves involvement was diagnosed in 59% of patients. In 31.8% of children the disease took the course of diffuse meningoencephalitis, 9% has signs of leptomeningitis combined with thromboarteritis of the middle cerebral artery. In 63% of patients the course of meningitis proceeded as a progressive undetected and untreated tuberculosis. Five years later 18% of children died and 9% had nervous system affection.