{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,13]],"date-time":"2026-10-13T23:20:22Z","timestamp":1791933622741,"version":"4.3.4"},"reference-count":28,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"6","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,11,21]],"date-time":"2023-11-21T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1700524800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Clinics and Practice"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background and objectives: One of the most severe forms of extrapulmonary tuberculosis (EPTB) is tuberculous meningitis (TBM), which is linked to significant morbidity and high mortality. It is well recognized that human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive people are more likely to develop EPTB, including TBM, especially if they have severe immunodeficiencies. We aim to highlight the profile and the characteristics of TBM in HIV-infected patients. Material and methods: We conducted a retrospective clinical study based on hospital medical records of patients diagnosed with HIV\/AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) and TBM in Northeast Romania, hospitalized at \u201cSt. Parascheva\u201d Clinical Hospital of Infectious Diseases of Iasi from 1 January 2010 to 1 December 2022. Results: From a total number of 1692 patients on record in our center, 195 had a HIV\u2013tuberculosis (TB) coinfection, and 19 cases were HIV\u2013TBM coinfected. Six cases were newly HIV-diagnosed late presenters, and thirteen patients\u2019 names were already found in the center\u2019s records with deficient immunological viral status (median CD4 lymphocyte level 47\/mm3). The average age in the study group was 27 years old. The clinical manifestations and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) variables were typical in most cases, despite the severe immunodepression of the patients. The Thwaites scoring system correctly identified 89.5% of the patients. The median admission period was 18 days; the lethality rate was 31.6%, despite access to ART and anti-TB drugs, and was associated with a more severe immunosuppression. No rifampicin resistance was detected. Conclusions: TBM appeared in a minority of our HIV cohort and affected severely immunodepressed patients; the clinical and CSF variables had a typical aspect in most cases, and the Thwaites scoring system performed well for this type of patient. The lethality rate was high and was correlated with a more severe immunodepression.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/clinpract13060131","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,11,22]],"date-time":"2023-11-22T04:21:27Z","timestamp":1700626887000},"page":"1488-1500","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":5,"title":["Characteristics of Tuberculous Meningitis in HIV-Positive Patients from Northeast Romania"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"13","author":[{"given":"Isabela Ioana","family":"Loghin","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Infectious Diseases, \u201cGrigore T. Popa\u201d University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 700115 Iasi, Romania"},{"name":"Department of Infectious Diseases, \u201cSt. Parascheva\u201d Clinical Hospital of Infectious Diseases, 700116 Iasi, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8357-7048","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Andrei","family":"V\u00e2\u021b\u0103","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Infectious Diseases, \u201cGrigore T. Popa\u201d University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 700115 Iasi, Romania"},{"name":"Department of Infectious Diseases, \u201cSt. Parascheva\u201d Clinical Hospital of Infectious Diseases, 700116 Iasi, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Egidia Gabriela","family":"Miftode","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Infectious Diseases, \u201cGrigore T. Popa\u201d University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 700115 Iasi, Romania"},{"name":"Department of Infectious Diseases, \u201cSt. Parascheva\u201d Clinical Hospital of Infectious Diseases, 700116 Iasi, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Mihaela","family":"Cobaschi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine\/Clinical II Department, \u201cCarol Davila\u201d University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 050474 Bucharest, Romania"},{"name":"National Institute of Infectious Diseases \u201cProf. Dr. Matei Bal\u0219\u201d, 021105 Bucharest, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"\u0218erban Alin","family":"Rusu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Infectious Diseases, \u201cSt. Parascheva\u201d Clinical Hospital of Infectious Diseases, 700116 Iasi, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"George","family":"Silva\u0219","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Infectious Diseases, \u201cSt. Parascheva\u201d Clinical Hospital of Infectious Diseases, 700116 Iasi, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Otilia Elena","family":"Fr\u0103sinariu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Infectious Diseases, \u201cGrigore T. Popa\u201d University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 700115 Iasi, Romania"},{"name":"Emergency Clinical Hospital for Children \u201cSt. Maria\u201d, 700309 Iasi, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Carmen Mihaela","family":"Dorob\u0103\u021b","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Infectious Diseases, \u201cSt. Parascheva\u201d Clinical Hospital of Infectious Diseases, 700116 Iasi, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,11,21]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"489","DOI":"10.1016\/S0140-6736(06)69157-5","article-title":"HIV\/AIDS epidemiology, pathogenesis, prevention, and treatment","volume":"368","author":"Simon","year":"2006","journal-title":"Lancet"},{"key":"ref_2","unstructured":"Justiz Vaillant, A.A., and Gulick, P.G. (2023). 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