Recurrent Chagas' disease meningomyelitis in an HIV-infected patient.

ABSTRACT

Chagas' disease reactivation leading to monophasic acute or subacute meningoencephalitis or space-occupying lesions is a well-described AIDS-defining condition in Latin America. We report a 59-year-old man native from the Northeast region of Brazil, with a second episode of subacute chagasic meningomyelitis. He had long-term multidrug-resistant HIV and had abandoned combined antiretroviral therapy (CD4+ lymphocyte count, 16 cells/mm³, and HIV viral load 169 403 copies/mL). He initially received benznidazole but switched to nifurtimox after developing myelotoxicity. He was discharged home having made a partial neurological improvement. Chagas' disease should be included in the differential diagnosis of meningomyelitis in people living with HIV/AIDS who are from endemic areas of this parasitic disease.