Solitary tuberculoma of the cerebellopontine angle: a rare presentation

Giant tuberculoma of the corpus callosum, the unforeseen diagnosis

OBJECTIVE

Isolated intracranial tuberculomas are rare, especially in adults and it is not uncommon that they are easily confused with other diseases. To address this issue, we reported a case of a tuberculoma of the corpus callosum focusing on clinical characteristics, diagnostic clues, and outcome.

CONCLUSIONS

Intracranial masses are frequently targeted as neoplastic pathology with surgical treatment in most cases. It is important to distinguish between neuro tuberculoma and brain tumors because of their different management and prognosis. Therefore even in absence of a known history of primary TB and in immunocompetent patients, tuberculoma must be in the differential diagnosis of solitary intracranial lesions also in countries where TB is not endemic.

[Tuberculoma mimicking the tumor of ponto-cerebellum angle as complication after postvaccinated tuberculous otitis media]

INTRODUCTION

Tuberculosis is a major problem of constant importance all over the world. Notably, in the developed countries it is due to immunosuppressive therapy and AIDS. Primary otological tuberculosis constitutes a very small share of cases of this disease. Moreover, the appearance of tuberculomas remains unique to even greater extent.

CASE REPORT

Clinical history of a patient who has already been infected tuberculosis for 60 years in result of the BCG vaccination. Ponto-cerebellum angle tumour appeared in his brain as complication ensuing the disease. The first therapeutic method used was based on antituberculous drugs, subsequent surgical intervention (cerebello-pontine angle tumor removal via translabirynthin approche) was necessary however. We suspected another cause of this lesion - cholesteatoma or facial nerve neurinoma. Correct diagnosis give only histopatological examination. Because of facial nerve palsy, facial nerve reconstruction was necessary (connection of n. VII and n.

XII) CONCLUSION

This case reminds us that correct diagnosis of tuberculosis remains a serious problem despite the long experience and the development of diagnostics and treatment methods. Nowadays we observe the unusual clinical manifestations of the disease (e.g. such as ear pain, tinnitus, rapid hearing loss) more frequently.

Large cerebellopontine angle tuberculoma: a case report

Tuberculoma involving the cerebellopontine angle is very rare. Preoperative neuroradiological features of such lesions may mimic neoplastic lesions and postoperative histopathological study brings the ultimate diagnosis. Here we present a patient with a large tuberculoma at the cerebellopontine angle who had another small lesion at the right fronto-basal region and was managed by surgical excision of the cerebellopontine angle lesion along with post-surgical antitubercular therapy for 18 months. On the 14th postoperative day, the patient developed status epilepticus, left hemiplegia and left-sided complete hearing loss. Computed tomography showed right frontal oedema. Then he recovered his motor function slowly and incompletely but left-sided hearing loss remained unchanged. Magnetic resonance imaging of the brain at 18 months after surgery showed no residual lesion with right frontal cortical atrophy.

Central system nervous tuberculosis in infants

The lack of specific symptoms and signs in patients with tuberculous meningitis makes early diagnosis difficult. In this report, we reviewed the clinical features and laboratory findings of 6 infants with central system nervous tuberculosis during a 10-year period. One of the patients had multifocal tuberculosis. The mean time to the diagnosis was 32 +/- 13.4 days. A contact source was identified in only 2 patients. All 6 patients had abnormal cerebrospinal fluid findings, less than 500 cells/microL with lymphocytic predominance. Computerized tomography (CT) and/or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed hydrocephalus with basal enhancement in 2 patients. One patient developed pontocerebellar and pituitary tuberculomas, which were responsible for compression and diabetes insipidus, 1 year after antituberculous treatment. These localizations are very rare. On the follow-up, 3 patients had hypoacousia and only 1 had severe sequelae, despite a diagnostic delay.

Imaging of cerebellopontine angle lesions: an update. Part 1: enhancing extra-axial lesions

Computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance (MR) imaging reliably demonstrate typical features of vestibular schwannomas or meningiomas in the vast majority of mass lesions in the cerebellopontine angle (CPA). However, a large variety of unusual lesions can also be encountered in the CPA. Covering the entire spectrum of lesions potentially found in the CPA, these articles explain the pertinent neuroimaging features that radiologists need to know to make clinically relevant diagnoses in these cases, including data from diffusion and perfusion-weighted imaging or MR spectroscopy, when available. A diagnostic algorithm based on the lesion's site of origin, shape and margins, density, signal intensity and contrast material uptake is also proposed. Part 1 describes the different enhancing extra-axial CPA masses primarily arising from the cerebellopontine cistern and its contents, including vestibular and non-vestibular schwannomas, meningioma, metastasis, aneurysm, tuberculosis and other miscellaneous meningeal lesions.

Retrospective study of 23 pathologically proven cases of central nervous system tuberculomas

INTRODUCTION

Extrapulmonary manifestations of tuberculosis involving the central nervous system (CNS) due to haematogenous spread are not a rare entity. It presents as meningitis or tuberculoma. Tuberculoma is a granulomatous inflammatory process mimicking a neoplasm radiologically, so usually a biopsy is performed.

MATERIAL AND RESULTS

Our study consisted of 23 pathologically proven cases of tuberculomas between 1988 and 2003. Patients were discussed clinically, radiologically and histologically. Headache, fever, weight loss and weakness are the most common clinical manifestations. Our patient's ages vary from 3 to 67 years with a mean of 31.8 years. Ninety-five percent of patients had bad social, economic and nutritional conditions. None of them were infected by human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). All patients had similar contrast-enhancing lesions radiologically. The majority of tuberculomas were located supratentorially. Only one patient presented two foci of (cerebral and cerebellar) tuberculomas. Nineteen tuberculomas were intracerebral; two were located in the cerebellum and one was intramedullary. Among those lesions, one cavernous sinus tuberculoma and one sellar tuberculoma were identified. Only two patients underwent stereotactic biopsy and 21 patients underwent surgical excision. Histopathologic examination revealed granulomatous inflammation with central caseous necrosis in all patients.

DISCUSSION

Diagnosis of tuberculoma can be difficult, and in most of our cases, the clinical diagnosis was 'neoplasm'. For this reason, clinicians must always be aware of it and consider it in the differential diagnosis of central nervous system mass lesions.

Differenzialdiagnose von Raumforderungen im Kleinhirnbr�ckenwinkel

Most of the space demands in the cerebellopontine angle lie extra-axially. Important structures run within the cisterns of the cerebellopontine angle, such as the trigeminal, facial and vestibulocochlear nerves as well as the anterior inferior and posterior inferior cerebellar arteries and the veins which lead to the petrosal sinus. The most common space demands are caused by acoustic neuromas, meningeomas, vascular ectasia and aneurysms. Less common are epidermoid and other schwannomas as well as metastases, paragangliomas and arachnoidal cysts. Intra-axial tumours in the area of the cerebellopontine angle include the medulloblastoma, astrocytoma and the ependymoma, which occurs predominantly in children, in addition to the uncommon choroid plexus papilloma. Nearby, there are also space demands around the petrous bone, such as cholesterol granuloma, malignant otitis media, paraganglioma and metastases. For differential diagnosis, an understanding of the space requirements of the tumours in the cerebellopontine angle is needed in addition to knowledge of the anatomical structures.