AUTHOR=Oukhai Fida , Domigo Valérie , Benzakoun Joseph , Wolff Michel , Ducros Anne , Mas Jean-Louis , Calvet David TITLE=Case report: Meningitis: a cause of reversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndrome? JOURNAL=Frontiers in Neurology VOLUME=14 YEAR=2023 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/neurology/articles/10.3389/fneur.2023.1143215 DOI=10.3389/fneur.2023.1143215 ISSN=1664-2295 ABSTRACT=Introduction

Reversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndrome (RCVS) is characterized by thunderclap headache and reversible cerebral arteries vasoconstriction. The pathophysiology remains unclear, but many triggers were reported.

Case reports

We reported two cases of patients with meningitis who developed RCVS confirmed by brain imaging. They presented clinical and CSF features of meningitis that are suspected to be infectious, but no agent was identified. Headache and artery irregularities were resolved with the improvement of CSF.

Conclusion

These cases suggest that in the context of meningitis, modification or atypical headaches should lead to brain imaging to rule out RCVS. We hypothesized that CSF inflammation may trigger cerebral arteries vasoconstriction.