Trend and epidemiological characteristics of tuberculous meningitis among Inpatients in a clinical setting in China, 2011–2022

Objective To analyze the epidemiological characteristics of tuberculous meningitis and the trend of patients with different characteristics, thereby provide reference for formulating relevant prevention and treatment strategies in the future.

Methods All cases of tuberculous meningitis (including definite, probable and possible cases) hospitalized in Beijing Chest Hospital Affiliated to Capital Medical University from 2011 to 2022 were collected through the electronic medical record system, and the trend of tuberculous meningitis classification, gender, age, whether there were comorbidities and whether there were other tuberculosis in different years was analyzed.

Results Among 33807 hospitalized tuberculosis (TB) patients, only 1176 (3.6%) were tuberculous meningitis (TBM), of which 641 were males (54.5%), 226 were elderly (19.2%), 438 were farmers and herdsmen (37.2%), and 682 were patients with complications (58.0%). 1060 patients (90.1%) were complicated with other tuberculosis, 769 patients (65.4%) had complications, and only 190 patients (16.2%) were diagnosed confirmly. The proportion of TBM was generally decreasing (4.8%-2.8%), and the proportion of elderly TBM patients aged 60 years and above (10.0%-18.2%), patients with comorbidities (39.3%-78.3%), patients with complications (54.0-80.2%), and patients with confirmed TBM (5.0%-31.3%) were increasing.

Conclusion The proportion of elderly patients with tuberculous meningitis is increasing year by year, and the incidence of comorbidities and complications remains high. Therefore, we need to increase the attention to elderly patients with tuberculous meningitis and strengthen the management of complications and complications of tuberculous meningitis.