Severe tuberculous encephalomyelitis

  The patient is a female, 29 years old. She was admitted to the hospital on March 12, 2011 for the following reasons: malaise, intermittent fever for nearly 5 months, headache, nausea, poor appetite for more than a month, and impaired consciousness for 4 days.  Diagnosis: Tuberculous encephalomyelitis Lymph node tuberculosis Intestinal tuberculosis The patient felt weak, no cough, cough, fever, runny nose and other discomfort after getting cold in November 2011, and did not care. in early December, the patient had fainting, dizziness, palpitations and discomfort after urinating, and recovered consciousness after 8 minutes, and then consulted the Second Affiliated Hospital of Shanxi College of Traditional Chinese Medicine. The maximum body temperature was found to be 39℃ without chills. He was given anti-infection and other treatments (details unknown) for 5 days and then his fever subsided, but he still felt weak.  On January 28, 2011, he developed high fever again and was subsequently hospitalized at the Second Hospital of Shanxi Medical College, where he was considered to have “extrapulmonary tuberculosis, intestinal tuberculosis?” He was given anti-TB drugs (isoniazid, rifampin, ethambutol) at an unknown dose, and was discharged after his body temperature dropped. After discharge from the hospital, the patient discontinued anti-TB drugs on his own after the appearance of gastrointestinal symptoms. In February 2011, the patient felt dizzy intermittently with nausea and vomiting (the vomit was stomach contents) and was poorly nourished and did not care. In the last 4 days, the patient suddenly became unconscious, and was subsequently referred to Shanda First Hospital, where he was considered to have “tuberculous meningitis” and “cerebellar tonsillar herniation”, and was transferred to the Intensive Care Medicine Unit (ICU) of our hospital. He had suffered from lymph node tuberculosis and improved after anti-TB treatment.  Physical examination: intermittent drowsiness, responsive to call, able to answer questions normally, bilateral pupils are equal in size and round, about 2 mm in diameter, light reflex is present, cervical resistance is 3 transverse fingers, positive Gram’s sign, positive bilateral Bartholin’s sign. MRI: hydrocephalus, mild subcerebellar tonsillar herniation, ultrasound: right cervical lymph node enlargement. Cerebrospinal fluid biochemistry: yellow, slightly turbid, Pan’s test (++++ ) white blood cells: 110×10 6/L lymphocytes 0.9 neutrophils 0.1 red blood cells 130×10 6/L sugar 1.9mmol/l protein 3.76g/l chloride 155mmol/l ADA 12u/l LDH 111u/l. After admission, he was treated with diagnostic anti-TB, hormones, dehydration, brain cell nutrition, oxygen therapy and nutritional support. He was treated with diagnostic anti-TB, hormones, dehydration, brain cell nutrition, oxygen therapy and nutritional support. On the third day of admission, his mental status returned to normal.  At the time of admission, no cerebrospinal fluid flow from lumbar puncture was considered to be due to vertebral canal adhesion obstruction, and the cerebrospinal fluid specimen was positive for tuberculosis antibody. Intermittent lumbar puncture was performed to inject urokinase into the spinal canal to reduce spinal adhesions, and 4 days after admission, the cerebral pressure was 55 mmH2O measured by lumbar puncture, followed by further symptomatic relief. Eight days after admission, the cerebrospinal fluid pressure returned to normal, the spinal canal adhesions were significantly relieved, and the cerebrospinal fluid protein further decreased. 2 months later, the cerebrospinal fluid protein decreased to less than 1.5 g/l, and the patient was discharged from bed.