Subarachnoid Neurocysticercosis Case Series Reveals a Significant Delay in Diagnosis-Requiring a High Index of Suspicion Among Those at Risk

Norman L Beatty; Harpreet Kaur; Kathryn Schlaffer; Kathryn Thompson; Preeti Manavalan; Zulmarie R Rijos; Abhinandan A Raman; H Richard Droghini; Elise M O'Connell

doi:10.1093/ofid/ofae176

Subarachnoid Neurocysticercosis Case Series Reveals a Significant Delay in Diagnosis-Requiring a High Index of Suspicion Among Those at Risk

Open Forum Infect Dis. 2024 Mar 21;11(5):ofae176. doi: 10.1093/ofid/ofae176. eCollection 2024 May.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Division of Infectious Diseases and Global Medicine, Department of Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA.
² Emerging Pathogens Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA.
³ Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Maryland, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
⁴ Division of Intramural Research, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.
⁵ Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.

Abstract

Subarachnoid neurocysticercosis can be challenging to recognize, which often leads to a delay in diagnosis. We report 3 cases presenting as chronic headache disorders that highlight the unique manifestations seen with this form of neurocysticercosis and the role that the infectious diseases consultant can play in ensuring a timely diagnosis.

Keywords: Taenia solium; arachnoid cyst; eosinophilic meningitis; hydrocephalus; subarachnoid neurocysticercosis.

Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Infectious Diseases Society of America 2024.