Evaluation of Cerebral-Mass Lesions in Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome

To the Editor: In their letter in the January 6 issue Snider et al. referred to cerebral lesions demonstrated on computerized axial tomographic (CAT) scans in patients with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) and made the statement “biopsy of cerebral-mass lesions is mandatory if appropriate therapy is to be administered.”¹ Although we agree with this statement in general, we would like to point out a situation in which we think that brain biopsy may be avoided. Patients with AIDS (especially Haitians) who present with neurologic manifestations and cerebral-mass lesions on CAT scan frequently have toxoplasma encephalitis.^{2 3 4} In our experience 13.