Dual Burden: Radiologically Confirmed Neurocysticercosis Complicated by Infective Endocarditis in a Young Patient: Case Report

Abstract

We report the case of a 17-year-old male who presented with progressive headache, fever, vomiting, and neck stiffness. On admission, he was febrile, tachycardic, tachypneic, hypoxic, and severely anemic, with conjunctival hemorrhages and new cardiac murmurs. Neurologically, he had reduced consciousness, left-sided weakness, hypertonia, and meningeal signs. Echocardiography revealed large vegetations on the aortic and mitral valves with moderate regurgitations and pulmonary hypertension, confirming native-valve infective endocarditis. Neuroimaging demonstrated a left parietal mass extending from the choroid plexus with multiple subarachnoid and scalp cystic lesions, consistent with racemose neurocysticercosis, complicated by severe vasogenic edema, obstructive hydrocephalus, subfalcine herniation, and intraparenchymal hemorrhages. The patient underwent burr-hole decompression (yielding mainly blood) and was treated with albendazole, praziquantel, corticosteroids, and antiepileptics for neurocysticercosis, alongside intravenous vancomycin and ceftriaxone for six weeks for infective endocarditis. This case highlights the rare coexistence of infective endocarditis and racemose neurocysticercosis with intracerebral hemorrhage, underscoring the importance of multidisciplinary care in managing overlapping infectious and neurological pathologies.