Current Diagnostic Criteria for Neurocysticercosis

Abstract

Neurocysticercosis (NCC) causes significant neurological morbidity around the world, and is the most common preventable factor for epilepsy in adults. It is endemic in most developing countries, and also diagnosed with some frequency in industrialized countries because of travel and migration. The clinical manifestations of NCC are extremely variable and may include almost any neurological symptom, depending on the number of lesions, location, size and evolutive stage of the infecting parasitic larvae and the immune response of the host. Thus, the diagnosis of NCC relies mostly on neuroimaging and immunological tests. Despite being a disease with a known etiology, the lack of specificity of clinical manifestations and auxiliary examinations makes its diagnosis difficult. In an attempt for developing a standard diagnosis approach, a chart of diagnostic criteria for NCC was initially published in 1996, and revised in 2001 and 2017. This chart of diagnostic criteria systematized the diagnosis of NCC and became widely used worldwide. This manuscript describes the structure of the chart, the principles behind the changes for each revision, as well as the context of its use and potential for improvement.