Secondary psychosis due to meningioma. Review about a case

Abstract

Meningiomas are the most frequent central nervous primary tumors, which tend to be benign and present a slow growth. They may be asymptomatic or present clinically just with psychiatric symptoms including a psychotic state. There are no clinical randomized controlled trials that study the relationship between meningioma and a psychotic episode. Available evidence is based on case reports and series. There is a relationship between the magnitude of perilesional edema and the presence of psychotic symptoms. On the other hand, the size of the tumor or its specific neuroanatomic location would have less relevance. Surgical resection of the tumor associated with psychiatric management usually leads to the cessation of psychotic symptoms. In the assessment of patients with psychotic symptoms, there must be a high index of suspicion, particularly in first psychotic episodes, atypical manifestations and resistance to treatment. In these cases, a neuroimaging study is recommended. This article presents the case of a patient evaluated in our hospital and diagnosed with a large left frontal meningioma with secondary psychotic symptoms, and an updated bibliographic review of this association is presented.