A clinical observation was made on 66 cases of tuberculous meningitis in the adult, admitted to Kwangju Christian Hospital from January 1966 to December 1972, and the following results were obtained.
1. The morbidity was approximately the same in both sexes. About three fourths of the cases were between the third and the fifth decade and the peak incidence was in the third.
2. Associated tuberculous lesions were noted in 32 cases (48.5%) with 19 cases of active pulmonary lesions.
3. The most common symptoms were headache, vomiting, fever, neck stiffness and consciousness disturbance in the order of frequency, while neurological signs on admission were usually neck stiffness, knee jerk elevation and positive Kernig´s sign. The duration from onset to admission was within 4 weeks in 74.3% of the cases.
4. The cerebrospinal fluid examination on admission revealed increased cerebrospinal fluid pressure (82.2%), leukocytosis (100%), increase protein (98.3%), decreased sugar (63.6%) and low chloride (65.9%).
5. Roentgenogram of the chest as abnormal in 36 cases (54.5%), with 8 cases of military tuberculosis.
6. On 31 out of 66 cases, the course was studied in relation to several factors on admission at the end of 12 weeks after the start of the chemotherapy; the delayed recovery was found in he cases of old age, over 2 weeks of duration from onset to the start of chemotherapy, increased cerebrospinal fluid pressure and associated tuberculous lesions.
7. The most common sequelae were chronic brain syndrome and paraplegia or hemiparesis, and the mortality during the period of observation was 16.6%.
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