Toxoplasmosis Differential Diagnoses

  • Author: Murat Hökelek, MD, PhD; Chief Editor: Burke A Cunha, MD   more...
 
Updated: Dec 15, 2011
 
 

Diagnostic Considerations

Conditions to consider in the differential diagnosis of congenital toxoplasmosis include rubella, encephalopathies, and erythroblastosis fetalis. In the differential diagnosis of toxoplasmic encephalitis, vasculitis and tumor should be considered. The major differential diagnosis of focal CNS lesions in patients with AIDS is CNS lymphoma, which manifests as multiple enhancing lesions in 40% of cases.

Other differentials in the diagnosis of toxoplasmosis include the following:

  • Other lesions caused by Cryptococcus neoformans, Aspergillus species , Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Nocardia species
  • Mycosis fungoides
  • Pneumocystis (carinii) jiroveci pneumonia
  • Sarcoidosis
  • Bacterial sepsis
  • Syphilis
  • Tuberculosis
  • Tularemia
  • Acute HIV infection
  • Cytomegalovirus retinitis
  • Cytomegalovirus encephalitis
  • Cytomegalovirus ventriculitis
  • CNS tuberculosis
  • Disseminated tuberculosis
  • Leukemia
  • Lymphoma
  • Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy
  • Acute retinal necrosis
  • Fungal endophthalmitis
  • Epimacular membrane
  • Intraocular foreign body
  • Uveitic glaucoma
  • Ocular manifestations of HIV
  • Ocular manifestations of syphilis
  • Anterior granulomatous uveitis
  • Anterior nongranulomatous uveitis
  • Fuchs heterochromic uveitis
  • Toxocariasis
  • Primary intraocular lymphoma
  • Pars planitis

Differential Diagnoses

Proceed to Workup
 
 
Contributor Information and Disclosures
Author

Murat Hökelek, MD, PhD  Technical Consultant of Parasitology Laboratory, Professor, Department of Clinical Microbiology, Ondokuz Mayis University Medical School, Turkey

Murat Hökelek, MD, PhD is a member of the following medical societies: Turkish Society for Parasitology

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Chief Editor

Burke A Cunha, MD  Professor of Medicine, State University of New York School of Medicine at Stony Brook; Chief, Infectious Disease Division, Winthrop-University Hospital

Burke A Cunha, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American College of Chest Physicians, American College of Physicians, and Infectious Diseases Society of America

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Additional Contributors

Joseph U Becker, MD Fellow, Global Health and International Emergency Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine

Joseph U Becker, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American College of Emergency Physicians, Emergency Medicine Residents Association, Phi Beta Kappa, and Society for Academic Emergency Medicine

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

John L Brusch, MD, FACP Assistant Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School; Consulting Staff, Department of Medicine and Infectious Disease Service, Cambridge Health Alliance

John L Brusch, MD, FACP is a member of the following medical societies: American College of Physicians and Infectious Diseases Society of America

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Theodore J Gaeta, DO, MPH, FACEP Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Emergency Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College; Vice Chairman and Program Director of Emergency Medicine Residency Program, Department of Emergency Medicine, New York Methodist Hospital; Academic Chair, Adjunct Professor, Department of Emergency Medicine, St George's University School of Medicine

Theodore J Gaeta, DO, MPH, FACEP is a member of the following medical societies: Alliance for Clinical Education, American College of Emergency Physicians, Clerkship Directors in Emergency Medicine, Council of Emergency Medicine Residency Directors, New York Academy of Medicine, and Society for Academic Emergency Medicine

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Rick Kulkarni, MD Attending Physician, Department of Emergency Medicine, Cambridge Health Alliance, Division of Emergency Medicine, Harvard Medical School

Rick Kulkarni, MD is a member of the following medical societies: Alpha Omega Alpha, American Academy of Emergency Medicine, American College of Emergency Physicians, American Medical Association, American Medical Informatics Association, Phi Beta Kappa, and Society for Academic Emergency Medicine

Disclosure: WebMD Salary Employment

Mark L Plaster, MD, JD Executive Editor, Emergency Physicians Monthly

Mark L Plaster, MD, JD is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Emergency Medicine and American College of Emergency Physicians

Disclosure: M L Plaster Publishing Co LLC Ownership interest Management position

Amar Safdar, MD, FACP, FIDSA Associate Professor of Medicine, Consulting Staff, Department of Infectious Diseases, Infection Control and Employee Health, MD Anderson Cancer Center, University of Texas

Amar Safdar, MD, FACP, FIDSA is a member of the following medical societies: American College of Physicians, American Medical Association, American Society for Microbiology, Infectious Diseases Society of America, International Immunocompromised Host Society, New York Academy of Sciences, and South Carolina Medical Association

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Joseph Sciammarella, MD, FACP, FACEP Major, Medical Corps, US Army Reserve; Attending Physician, Emergency Medicine, Weatherby Locums; President and Director of Education, Health Training/Consulting, Inc

Joseph Sciammarella, MD, FACP, FACEP is a member of the following medical societies: American College of Emergency Physicians, American College of Physicians, and American Medical Association

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Richard H Sinert, DO Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine, Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine, Research Director, State University of New York College of Medicine; Consulting Staff, Department of Emergency Medicine, Kings County Hospital Center

Richard H Sinert, DO is a member of the following medical societies: American College of Physicians and Society for Academic Emergency Medicine

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Deepika Singh, MD Staff Physician, Department of Emergency Medicine, Lawrence and Memorial Hospital, New London, CT

Deepika Singh, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American College of Emergency Physicians, American Medical Association, American Nurses Association, Emergency Medicine Residents Association, and Sigma Theta Tau International

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Francisco Talavera, PharmD, PhD, Adjunct Assistant Professor, University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Pharmacy; Editor-in-Chief, Medscape Drug Reference

Disclosure: Medscape Reference Salary Employment

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Toxoplasmosis. Toxoplasma gondii tachyzoites (Giemsa stain).
Toxoplasmosis. Toxoplasma gondii tachyzoites in cell line.
Toxoplasma gondii in infected monolayers of HeLa cells (Giemsa stain).
Ophthalmic toxoplasmosis. Used with permission of Anton Drew, ophthalmic photographer, Adelaide, South Australia.
Macular scar secondary to congenital toxoplasmosis. Visual acuity of the patient is 20/400
Papillitis secondary to toxoplasmosis, necessitating immediate systemic therapy.
Acute macular retinitis associated with primary acquired toxoplasmosis, requiring immediate systemic therapy
Peripapillary scars secondary to toxoplasmosis
Perimacular scars secondary to toxoplasmosis
Inactive retinochoroidal scar secondary to toxoplasmosis
 
 
 
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