Cerebral Toxoplasmosis As the Initial Presentation of HIV: A Case Series

• Published in: Curēus (Palo Alto, CA) Vol. 14; no. 3; p. e23359
• Main Authors: Khosla, Akshita, Singhal, Sachi, Jotwani, Pooja, Kleyman, Robert
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Cureus Inc 21-03-2022; Cureus
• Subjects: Acquired immune deficiency syndrome; African Americans; AIDS; Antigens; Case reports; Edema; Hallucinations; Hepatitis; HIV; HIV/AIDS; Human immunodeficiency virus; Hydrocephalus; Hypertension; Infections; Infectious Disease; Lymphoma; Magnetic resonance imaging; Medical tests; Neurology; Vital signs; Liberia; United States > US; neuropsychiatric manifestations; aids; cns toxoplasmosis; hiv; cerebral toxoplasmosis
• ISSN: 2168-8184; 2168-8184
• DOI: 10.7759/cureus.23359

The HIV epidemic afflicts millions across the globe, and Sub-Saharan countries bear a disproportionately high burden. Cerebral toxoplasmosis is commonly seen as the disease progresses but is rarely ever reported as the initial manifestation of HIV. The clinical presentation, co-existing risk factors, and outcomes remain underreported. The objective of this article is to report cerebral toxoplasmosis as the initial manifestation of HIV. This is a consecutive series of three patients that presented to a community hospital in Pennsylvania, United States, with a variety of neuropsychiatric symptoms and were found to have cerebral toxoplasmosis. The findings are compared with existing literature on cerebral toxoplasmosis as the initial manifestation of HIV. Cerebral toxoplasmosis as the initial manifestation of HIV is a rarely reported phenomenon. Hyponatremia may be linked with this disease-complex, although further studies are warranted to establish a causal relationship. Co-infection with hepatitis viruses is also a common finding in these patients.