Table 1.

The clinical features of the six patients with rheumatoid meningitis.

	Case 1	Case 2	Case 3	Case 4	Case 5	Case 6
Sex	Female	Female	Female	Female	Male	Female
Age at disease onset, y	43	53	33	52	64	47
RA duration before RM, y	12	0	2.5	10	30	20
DMT before RM	MTX, LEF	None	None	CS	CS, LEF, HCQ	LEF, MTX, SASP
DAS 28 at disease onset	6.21	NA	2.06	NA	NA	4.98
Neurologic symptoms	Headache, dizziness	Headache, recurrent episodes of slurred speech with left-sided numbness, diplopia	Headache, recurrent episodes of slurred speech with left-sided weakness and numbness, recurrent episodes of right-sided numbness, seizures	Cognitive decline, seizures, recurrent episodes of left-sided weakness and numbness, headache	Headache, recurrent episodes of left-sided weakness and numbness, persistent weakness in the left upper and lower limbs, altered mental status	Seizures, cognitive decline, hallucinations, headache, dizziness, tinnitus, unsteady gait, urinary incontinence
Other extra-articular symptoms	Fever	None	None	None	None	None
Time from Sx to Dx, m	4	5	6	12	3	4
mRS at nadir	2	3	3	3	5	4
DMT after RM	TCZ, HCQ	TCZ, LEF, MTX, ADM	CS, MMF, TCZ	CS, CTX, MTX	CS, LEF, HCQ, TCZ, MTX	CS, AZA
Antimicrobial drugs administered	Ceftriaxone	None	Acyclovir	None	MRP, LFX, RMP	None
F/U duration, m	17	16	36	48	6	10
mRS at last F/U	0	1	0	1	6	1

ADM, adalimumab; AZA, azathioprine; CS, corticosteroids; CTX, cyclophosphamide; DMT, disease-modifying therapy; Dx, diagnosis; F/U, follow-up; HCQ, hydroxychloroquine; LEF, leflunomide; LFX, levofloxacin; m, month; MMF, mycophenolate mofetil; MRP, Meropenem; mRS, modified Rankin Scale; MTX, methotrexate; RA, rheumatoid arthritis; RM, rheumatoid meningitis; RMP, rifampicin; SASP, sulfasalazine; Sx, symptoms; TCZ, tocilizumab; y, year.