Treatment
See: tuberculosis treatment
The treatment of TB meningitis is isoniazid, rifampicin, pyrazinamide and ethambutol for two months, followed by isoniazid and rifampicin alone for a further ten months. Steroids are always used in the first six weeks of treatment (and sometimes for longer). A few patients may require immunomodulatory agents such as thalidomide.
Treatment must be started as soon as there is a reasonable suspicion of the diagnosis. Treatment must not be delayed while waiting for confirmation of the diagnosis.
Hydrocephalus occurs as a complication in about a third of patients with TB meningitis and will require a ventricular shunt. The addition of aspirin may improve mortality, possibly by reducing complications such as infarcts.
Read more about this topic: Tuberculous Meningitis
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