Paradoxical expansion of intracranial tuberculomas during chemotherapy

4 patients with tuberculosis, 3 of whom had tuberculous meningitis, were noted to have tuberculomas on computed tomographic scanning. During antituberculous chemotherapy the intracranial lesions increased in size in all 4 patients at a time when the clinical state and cerebrospinal-fluid abnormalities were improving; in 2 of the patients the regional lymph nodes also enlarged greatly. Though the expansion of the cerebral lesions caused anxiety and led to some changes in chemotherapy, the lesions eventually diminished in size.