Title: Utility of Serial Transcranial Doppler in Diagnosis of Intracranial Vasculopathy with Computed Tomography Correlation in Children with Tuberculous Meningitis

Authors: Dr Rupam Kumari, Dr Suresh Kumar Toppo, Dr Paras Nath Ram, Dr Rajeev Kumar Ranjan, Dr Pughaz Deivigan, Dr Vijay Agarwal

 DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.18535/jmscr/v7i1.01

Abstract

Background: Cerebral vasculopathy leading to infarct are the most serious complications of tuberculous meningitis (TBM). Transcranial Doppler (TCD) allows early diagnosis and monitoring of cerebral hemodynamics. It is real time, non-invasive and non-ionizing imaging modality.

Aims & Objectives: 1) To describe spectrum of findings and to detect cerebral vasculopathy in pediatric TBM patients by using TCD. 2) To determine reliability of TCD by correlating its findings with computed tomography (CT) findings and stage of the disease.

Materials & Methods: 40 children≤ 13 years with diagnosis of TBM referred in Department of Radiology of a Tertiary care Hospital, Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS), Ranchi from September 2017 – August 2018 underwent serial TCD imaging on day 1, day 3 & day 7 after obtaining written informed consent. Findings were analyzed and then compared with CT findings and stage of the disease.

Results: Out of 40 study subjects who underwent TCD imaging, 19 patients showed abnormal Doppler findings in the form of stenosis in 15, vasospasm in 4, and hyperemia in 2 children. Sensitivity and Specificity of TCD as compared to CT to detect stenosis in cerebral arteries were 91.7% & 85.7% respectively.

Conclusion: Serial TCD can be used as a reliable modality for early diagnosis and monitoring of intracranial vasculopathy in childhood TBM.

Keywords: Transcranial Doppler, Vasculopathy, Tuberculous Meningitis, Children, CT.

References

  1. Rock RB, Olin M, Baker CA, Molitor TW, Peterson PK. Central Nervous System Tuberculosis: Pathogenesis and clinical aspects. Clin Microbiol Rev.2008 Apr;21(2):243-261.
  2. Chiang SS, Khan FA, Milstein MB, Tolman AW, Benedetti A et al. Treatment outcomes of childhood tuberculous meningitis: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Lancet Infect Dis. 2014;14(10):947-957.
  3. Sheu JJ, Yuan RY, Yang CC. Predictors for outcome and treatment delay in patients with tuberculous meningitis. Am J Med Sci. 2009 Aug;338(2):134-9.
  4. Török ME. Tuberculous meningitis: Advances in diagnosis and treatment. Br Med Bull 2015;113:117-31.
  5. Botha H, Ackerman C, Candy S, Carr JA, Griffith-Richards S, Bateman KJ. Reliability and diagnostic performance of CT imaging criteria in the diagnosis of tuberculous meningitis. PLoS One 2012;7:e38982.
  6. Marais S, Thwaites G, Marais JB,et al. Tuberculous Meningitis : a uniform case definition for use in clinical research. Lancet Infect Dis.2010;(10):803-812.
  7. Bathala L, Mehndiratta MM, Sharma VK. Transcranialdoppler: Technique and common findings(Part 1). Ann Indian Acad Neurol. 2013 Apr-Jun;16(2):174-179.
  8. Marais BJ, Heemskerk AD, Marais SS, Crevel RV, Rohlwink U et al. Standardized Methods for Enhanced Quality and Comparability of Tuberculous Meningitis Studies. Clin Infect Dis. 2017 Feb;64(4):501-509.
  9. Bode H, Wais U. Age dependence of flow velocities in basal cerebral arteries. Arch Dis Child 1988;63:606–611.
  10. Tai MLS, Sharma VK. Role of Transcranial Doppler in the Evaluation of Vasculopathy in Tuberculous Meningitis. PLoS ONE 2016;11(10) 
  11. Van Toorn R, Schaaf HS, Solomons R, Laubscher JA, Schoeman JF. The value of transcranial Doppler imaging in children with tuberculous meningitis. Childs NervSyst 2014;30:1711-6.
  12. Israni AV, Dave DA, Mandal A, Singh A, Sahi PK, Das RR, Shah A. Tubercular meningitis in children: Clinical, pathological, and radiological profile and factors associated with mortality. Journal of neurosciences in rural practice. 2016 Jul;7(3):400.
  13. Garg RK, Malhotra HS, Jain A. Neuroimaging in tuberculous meningitis. Neurol India 2016;64:219-27.
  14. Singh B, Garg RK, Singh MK, Verma R, Malhotra HS, Jain A, Singh R, Kohli N, Phadke RV, Shukla R, Parihar A. Computed tomography angiography in patients with tuberculous meningitis. J Infect.2012 Jun;64(6):565-572.
  15. Kalita J, Prasad S, Maurya PK, Kumar S, Misra UK. ActaRadiologica 2012;53:324-329.

Corresponding Author

Dr Rupam Kumari

Add: New PG Girl’s hostel, RIMS, Bariyatu, Ranchi 834009, India

Mobile No: 8674829414, Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.