Causas inusuales de meningitis crónica, reporte de 5 casos / Unusual causes of chronic meningitis, report of 5 cases

RESUMO

Chronic meningitis is a frequent disease; it constitutes a real diagnostic challenge because of different etiologic possibilities, the most important being infectious, chemical, inflammatory, tumoral, autoimmune and of unknown origin. Chronic meningitis, as a rule, needs the use of a wide and expensive battery of studies, but frequently despite all this, it is not possible to make a diagnosis. Biopsies of meninges and brain play a key role in the study of this type of patients. We present five cases of chronic meningitis; some important considerations are made in relation to diagnosis and therapeutic management.