Understanding Eosinophilic Meningitis: A Comprehensive Overview

Abstract

Eosinophilic meningitis (EM) presents a diagnostic challenge due to its varied etiologies, encompassing both infectious and non-infectious causes. Typically, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) devoid of eosinophils serves as the norm, with their presence indicating a potential underlying condition such as parasitic infections or other systemic disorders.Eosinophilic meningitis is defined as presence of 10 or more eosinophils per microliter in CSF or eosinophils constituting at least 10% of total CSF leucocyte count [1]. Infection with helminthic parasites is considered as the most common source. Other infectious agents include fungi, bacteria, rickettsiae and viruses. Non-infectious causes of EM include malignancy like Hodgkins lymphoma, Non-Hodgkins lymphoma, eosinophilic leukemia, medications like Ciprofloxacin, Ibuprofen, Vancomycin and systemic diseases like sarcoidosis,and hypereosinophilic syndrome.