Table 1.
Clinical features to differentiate the two main causes of eosinophilic meningitis.
| Factors | Angiostrongyliasis | Gnathostomiasis |
| Presenting symptom | Acute severe headache | Motor weakness |
| Migratory swelling | None | Yes |
| Pain | With focal numbness | Along nerve root |
| Peripheral eosinophilia | Yes | Yes |
| CSFa appearance | Coconut juice | Non-traumatic bloody |
| Brain imaging | No pathognomonic sign | SAHa or unusual site ICHa |
| History of larval exposure | Uncooked snails or slugs | Uncooked poultry, fish |
| Diagnostic immunoblot band | 29 or 31 kDa | 21 or 24 kDa |
a
CSF: cerebrospinal fluid; SAH: subarachnoid hemorrhage; ICH: intracerebral hemorrhage