Clinical-epidemiological characteristics of tuberculous meningitis in inpatients in the Servicio de Clínica Médica of the National Medical Center in the period 2015 ­ 2023

ABSTRACT Introduction: tuberculous meningitis is the most serious form of extrapulmonary tuberculosis, this is due to the high mortality and morbidity in patients, its diagnosis is difficult and the majority of cases can be identified based on clinical criteria and characteristics of the cerebrospinal fluid that the majority Sometimes they are nonspecific. Objective: determine the clinical-epidemiological characteristics in patients with meningeal tuberculosis of patients admitted to the medical clinic area at the National Hospital in the period 2015-2023. Methodology: retrospective descriptive observational cross-sectional study of adult patients with meningeal tuberculosis admitted to the National Hospital in the period 2015-2023. Results: 32 patients between 20 and 80 years old (mean age: 39 years) were included; men 68.75 %, women 32.25 %. Mostly coming from the interior of the country. In most cases, patients presented an increase in proteins in the cerebrospinal fluid and predominantly mononuclear cellularity. The genxpert positivity of Mycobacterium from the cerebrospinal fluid was 62.5 %; in no case was AFB isolated. 37.5 % were seropositive for HIV and 43.75 % had pulmonary disease concomitant to meningitis. Mortality was 31.25 %. Conclusion: tuberculous meningitis in our research mainly affected middle-aged men from the interior, whose initial symptoms are fever in a higher percentage followed by headache, presenting a high mortality.