Cerebral tuberculosis in the immunocompetent host: 8 cases observed in Switzerland

8 cases of cerebral tuberculosis were observed between January 1985 and June 1993 at the University Hospitals of Lausanne and Geneva, Switzerland. 5 patients were foreigners and 3 were Swiss, 2 of them alcoholics. All patients were HIV seronegative. Mycobacterium tuberculosis was isolated in 7 patients and M. bovis in one patient. All patients had radiological or bacteriological signs of pulmonary tuberculosis, and 3 had miliary tuberculosis. 3 patients died, 5 were cured. The main prognostic factors were age and the degree of neurological impairment at the beginning of treatment. The epidemiological, clinical, diagnostic and therapeutic aspects of this rare and severe form of extrapulmonary tuberculosis are reviewed.