Brain Tumor Research and Treatment  2013;1(2):107-110

doi:10.14791/btrt.2013.1.2.107

Fulminant Meningitis after Radiotherapy for Clival Chordoma.

Seong Min KIM 1 ; Hyun Wook PARK ; Moon Sun PARK ; Seung Young CHUNG ; Ki Seok PARK ; Do Sung LEE ; Jung Tae OH

Affiliations

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Keywords

Chordoma; Radiotherapy; Meningitis

Country

Republic of Korea

Language

English

Abstract

The best treatment for clival chordoma is obtained with total surgical excision, sometimes combined with adjuvant radiotherapy. A cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) fistula is a fatal complication that may occur following extended transsphenoidal surgery (TSS) and adjuvant radiotherapy. We report a case of fulminant meningitis without a CSF fistula in a 57-year-old woman who underwent TSS and multiple radiotherapies for a clival chordoma. She presented to our emergency room with copious epistaxis and odor inside her nasal cavity and had an unexpected fatal outcome. She was diagnosed with meningitis based on CSF culture and blood culture. While treating clival chordomas with adjuvant radiotherapy, clinicians should be aware of the possibility of fulminant meningitis.