Chronic and Subacute Meningitis: Differentiating Neoplastic From Non-Neoplastic Etiologies:

Background and Purpose:Although incidence rates vary, infectious, autoimmune, and neoplastic diseases can all cause chronic and subacute meningitis (CSM). We report a Latin-American, single center, CSM case series, analyzing the main clinical characteristics as well as ancillary diagnostic methods differentiating neoplastic from non-neoplastic etiologies.Methods:Retrospective review of CSM cases from a single center in Buenos Aires, Argentina.Results:Seventy patients with CSM diagnosis were identified, 49 with neoplastic and 21 with non-neoplastic meningitis. A history of previous cancer was significantly higher in neoplastic cases, whereas prevalence of autoimmune disease and fever was more common in non-neoplastic meningitis. C-reactive protein values were higher in non-neoplastic CSM, as was pleocytosis in cerebrospinal fluid analysis. The most frequent etiologies were breast and lung cancer for neoplastic meningitis cases; and idiopathic, tuberculous, and fungal infection for non-neoplastic cases.Conc...