To investigate the clinical characteristics of cases with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) complicated with central nervous system (CNS) treated by neurosurgery.

From January 2012 to December 2018, the clinical data of 62 patients with AIDS and CNS infection were analyzed, retrospectively.

The 62 cases with AIDS and CNS infection who received surgical treatment accounted for 28.4% (62/218) of the AIDS cases with CNS lesions in the Department of Neurosurgery during the same period. The main clinical manifestations were fever, intracranial hypertension, dysfunction, dizziness and epilepsy. There were 32 (51.6%) cases underwent shunt, 11 (17.7%) cases underwent pathological biopsy and 19 (30.6%) cases underwent intracranial space-occupying resection. Among the 62 cases diagnosed by laboratory and postoperative pathology, 33 (53.2%) cases with fungal infection, 1 (1.6%) case with virus infection, 1 case (1.6%) with syphilis granuloma infection, 5 (8.1%) cases with parasitic infection, 8 (12.9%) cases with Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection, 4 (6.5%) cases with bacterial infection, 9 (14.5%) cases with unexplained infections, 1 (1.6%) case with mixed infection. After surgical treatment, 46 (74.2%) cases improved, 14 (22.6%) cases had no improvement, and 2 (3.2%) cases gave up treatment.

The spectrum of pathogenic of AIDS complicated with CNS infection was extensive, the clinical manifestations were fever, intracranial hypertension, dysfunction, dizziness and epilepsy; the incidence of fungal infection was the highest. Surgical intervention could be used as an important mean of diagnosis and treatment of this kind of disease, and the efficiency of diagnosis and treatment could be improved.