Isolated cerebellar tuberculoma mimicking a malignant posterior cranial fossa tumor in a healthy child: A rare case report from Tanzania

INTRODUCTION: Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the leading causes of mortality and morbidity in the world, especially in developing countries that account for 98 % deaths among TB cases. Although TB is primarily a disease of the lungs, extrapulmonary manifestations have been reported. Although CNS tuberculoma mostly affects immunocompromised people, it also affects healthy people at extremes of age. Imaging of intracranial tuberculoma may look like neurocysticercosis, and other ring-enhancing lesions hence imposing a diagnosis dilemma. CASE PRESENTATION: A 13-year-old female presented with headache, convulsions, blurry vision, and gait disturbance for six months. Brain imaging showed a left cerebellar lesion with obstructive hydrocephalus. She underwent ventriculoperitoneal shunting on admission, then sub-occipital craniotomy with tumor resection one week later. Histology confirmed a diagnosis of tuberculoma. She was given anti-tuberculosis medications and she was discharged home healthy without any of the symptoms she had on admission. DISCUSSION: Although only about 1 % of active tuberculosis cases presents as CNS TB, 5–10 % of intracranial space-occupying lesions in developing countries are tuberculomas. Provisional diagnosis of tuberculoma can be made through clinical history, examination, and neuroimaging. However, it is challenging because neurocysticercosis also appears as a ring-enhancing lesion in the brain and has almost similar prevalence in low-income settings. Being immunocompetent with no history of tuberculosis or constitutional symptoms, a diagnosis of tuberculoma was only confirmed by histology. CONCLUSION: A high index of suspicion for CNS tuberculomas in TB endemic areas should be kept in patients presenting with features of intracranial space-occupying lesions regardless of the absence of risk factors.