Login Register Cart 0
Generic placeholder image

Current Medical Imaging

Editor-in-Chief

ISSN (Print): 1573-4056
ISSN (Online): 1875-6603

Back
Journal Home About Journal Editorial Board Journal Insight Current Issue Volumes/Issues
Subscribe
Case Report

Magnetic Resonance Imaging Findings of Foetal Congenital Toxoplasma Encephalitis: A Case Report

Author(s): Min-Jie Lin, Jian Lin and Ke Zheng*

Volume 20, 2024

Published on: 14 April, 2023

Article ID: e220323214860 Pages: 5

DOI: 10.2174/1573405619666230322110855

Price: $65

Abstract

Background: Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) infection is not uncommon in daily life, primary infection with T. gondii acquired during gestation may lead to a series of fetal complications. Prenatal ultrasound and postpartum neonatal T. gondii encephalitis have been reported previously, but fetal MRI findings of T. gondii encephalitis are quite rare. It is important to identify the severity of cerebral damage and assess fetal prognosis.

Objective: The purpose of this report is to emphasize that MRI can provide more excellent anatomic information on abnormalities in cerebral parenchyma than ultrasound, which is helpful for the diagnosis of prenatal infectious encephalitis.

Case Presentation: A 38-year-old woman presented to our hospital at a gestation age of 29 weeks due to an ultrasound that showed fetal ventriculomegaly. The fetus demonstrated ventriculomegaly, intrauterine growth restriction, and multiple cystic lesions close to the corticomedullary junction of the frontal, temporal and parietal lobes on both sides. The woman chose to terminate the pregnancy, and pathological examination confirmed the diagnosis of congenital toxoplasma encephalitis.

Conclusion: This is a rare report of MRI manifestations of fetal congenital toxoplasma encephalitis. Detailed knowledge of MRI findings in fetal congenital toxoplasma encephalitis is helpful for prenatal consultation and pregnancy management.

[1]
Khan K, Khan W. Congenital toxoplasmosis: An overview of the neurological and ocular manifestations. Parasitol Int 2018; 67(6): 715-21.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.parint.2018.07.004] [PMID: 30041005]
[2]
Nayeri T, Sarvi S, Moosazadeh M, Amouei A, Hosseininejad Z, Daryani A. The global seroprevalence of anti-Toxoplasma gondii antibodies in women who had spontaneous abortion: A systematic review and meta-analysis. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2020; 14(3): e0008103.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0008103] [PMID: 32168351]
[3]
Dhakal R, Gajurel K, Pomares C, Talucod J, Press CJ, Montoya JG. Significance of a positive toxoplasma immunoglobulin M test result in the United States. J Clin Microbiol 2015; 53(11): 3601-5.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1128/JCM.01663-15] [PMID: 26354818]
[4]
Manganaro L, Bernardo S, Antonelli A, Vinci V, Saldari M, Catalano C. Fetal MRI of the central nervous system: State-of-the-art. Eur J Radiol 2017; 93: 273-83.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ejrad.2017.06.004] [PMID: 28668426]
[5]
Liu Q, Wang ZD, Huang SY, Zhu XQ. Diagnosis of toxoplasmosis and typing of Toxoplasma gondii. Parasit Vectors 2015; 8(1): 292-306.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s13071-015-0902-6] [PMID: 26017718]
[6]
Li X, Pomares C, Gonfrier G, et al. Multiplexed anti-toxoplasma IgG, IgM, and IgA assay on plasmonic gold chips: Towards making mass screening possible with dye test precision. J Clin Microbiol 2016; 54(7): 1726-33.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1128/JCM.03371-15] [PMID: 27008879]
[7]
Boothroyd JC. Toxoplasma gondii: 25 years and 25 major advances for the field. Int J Parasitol 2009; 39(8): 935-46.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpara.2009.02.003] [PMID: 19630140]
[8]
Li HL, Dong L, Li Q, et al. Seroepidemiology of Toxoplasma gondii infection in Bai and Han ethnic groups in southwestern China. Epidemiol Infect 2015; 143(4): 881-6.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0950268814001551] [PMID: 24933039]
[9]
Findal G, Stray-Pedersen B, Holter EK, Berge T, Jenum PA. Persistent low toxoplasma IgG avidity is common in pregnancy: Experience from antenatal testing in Norway. PLoS One 2015; 10(12): e0145519.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0145519] [PMID: 26714282]
[10]
Eyüboğlu İ, Di̇nç G. Fetal US and MRI in detection of craniospinal anomalies with postnatal correlation: Single-center experience. Turk J Med Sci 2021; 51(3): 1211-9.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.3906/sag-2011-122] [PMID: 33517612]
[11]
Moltoni G, Talenti G, Righini A. Brain fetal neuroradiology: A beginner’s guide. Transl Pediatr 2021; 10(4): 1065-77.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.21037/tp-20-293] [PMID: 34012856]
[12]
di Carlo P, Romano A, Casuccio A, et al. Investigation and management of Toxoplasma gondii infection in pregnancy and infancy: A prospective study. Acta Pharmacol Sin 2011; 32(8): 1063-70.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/aps.2011.55] [PMID: 21743484]
[13]
Gupta RK, Kumar S, Prasad KN, Jha S, Pradhan S, Vastava PB. MRI features of toxoplasma encephalitis in the immunocompetent host: A report of two cases. Neuroradiology 2002; 44(10): 834-8.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00234-002-0852-5] [PMID: 12389133]
[14]
Li S, Nguyen IP, Urbanczyk K. Common infectious diseases of the central nervous system - clinical features and imaging characteristics. Quant Imaging Med Surg 2020; 10(12): 2227-59.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.21037/qims-20-886] [PMID: 33269224]
[15]
Chong-Han CH, Cortez SC, Tung GA. Diffusion-weighted MRI of cerebral toxoplasma abscess. AJR Am J Roentgenol 2003; 181(6): 1711-4.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.2214/ajr.181.6.1811711] [PMID: 14627601]
[16]
Dhombres F, Friszer S, Maurice P, et al. Prognosis of fetal parenchymal cerebral lesions without ventriculomegaly in congenital toxoplasmosis infection. Fetal Diagn Ther 2017; 41(1): 8-14.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1159/000445113] [PMID: 27093552]
[17]
Werner H, Daltro P, Fazecas T, Zare Mehrjardi M, Araujo Júnior E. Neuroimaging findings of congenital toxoplasmosis, cytomegalovirus, and zika virus infections: A comparison of three cases. J Obstet Gynaecol Can 2017; 39(12): 1150-5.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jogc.2017.05.013] [PMID: 28780216]
[18]
Vande Walle C, Keymeulen A, Schiettecatte E, et al. Brain MRI findings in newborns with congenital cytomegalovirus infection: Results from a large cohort study. Eur Radiol 2021; 31(10): 8001-10.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00330-021-07776-2] [PMID: 33787973]

Rights & Permissions Print Cite
© 2024 Bentham Science Publishers | Privacy Policy