[Diagnostic problems of expansive intracranial process in HIV infected patients of the Bobo-Dioulasso Central Hospital (Burkina Faso)].

In HIV infection, cerebral focal lesions are relatively frequent and raise many kinds of diagnostic problems. In tropical practice, neuroradiology is scarcely available and necropsy is still not developed. Therefore, diagnosis of intracerebral masses among patients is not easily performed. We examined a total of 72 patients who presented over a 3-year period. Patients were allocated to presumed diagnostic categories of toxoplasma encephalitis (TE), primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL) or progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML), based on clinical and therapeutic criteria. In an internal medicine ward, we examined 72 suspected cases of intracerebral masses in a sample of 43 males (60%) and 29 females (40%). The average age was 38 years with extremes ranging from 21 to 72 years. Because of diagnostic problems, the presumption of a TE has been retained in 54 cases (75% of the sample) owing to the efficiency of the treatment of antitoxoplasmic proof. As for the other intracerebral masses, despite insufficient diagnostic means, the assumption of PCNSL was made for 8 cases and PML for 6 cases on the basis of evolutional criteria. In 4 cases, no diagnosis could be retained because of insufficient diagnostic means and treatment failure. Since brain tomodensitometry and brain biopsy are not available, treatment of toxoplasmosis has to be systematically set up whenever there is a presumption of intracerebral masses among patients with HIV infection. It is only in case of failure of this treatment that other hypotheses can be contemplated, especially as they are not entirely reliable.