[Chronic meningitis: differential diagnosis]

Abstract

Chronic meningitis is defined by the association of symptoms of more than 1 month duration and an abnormal cellularity of the cerebrospinal fluid. About 10% of all meningitis are chronic meningitis. The differential diagnosis is wide and relies on anamnestic data, daily life characteristics and activities, immune status, clinical presentation and signs, and systematic search of most frequent causes. The main causes of chronic meningitis are tuberculous, cryptococcal, mainly in immunosuppressed patients, carcinomatous and systemic diseases associated meningitis. The first part of the paper details the overall etiological strategy to be used in the diagnosis of chronic meningitis. The second part is a literature-based review of the common and rare causes of chronic meningitis.