MRI pattern of infarcts in basal ganglia region in patients with tuberculous meningitis

This study aimed to evaluate the pattern of infarct in basal ganglia region in tuberculous meningitis (TBM) and ischemic strokes and its sensitivity and specificity in the diagnosis of these disorders. Patients with TBM and ischemic strokes in basal ganglia region were retrospectively evaluated from our tuberculous meningitis and ischemic stroke registry. Magnetic resonance imaging findings were grouped into anterior (caudate, genu, anterior limb of internal capsule, anteromedial thalamus) and posterior (lentiform nuclei, posterior limb of internal capsule, posterolateral thalamus). The sensitivity and specificity of these patterns in diagnosing TBM and ischemic stroke were evaluated. There were 24 patients in each group. Infarct in TBM was purely anterior in eight patients and in ischemic stroke purely posterior in 18 patients. The frequency of caudate infarct was significantly higher in TBM compared to ischemic stroke (37.5% vs 8.3%). In TBM patients, purely posterior infarcts were present in seven patients; three had associated risk factors of ischemic stroke. The sensitivity of pure anterior infarct in the diagnosis of TBM was 33%, specificity 91.66%. For ischemic stroke, the sensitivity of posterior infarct was 75% and specificity 70.83%. TBM patients having infarcts in posterior region should be looked for associated risk factors of ischemic stroke.