Stroke or encephalitis?

Viral encephalitis is associated with significant morbidity and mortality, particularly when appropriate management is omitted as a result of delayed diagnosis. A case of herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV‐1) encephalitis is presented, demonstrating that the presentation of confusion, speech difficult...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Emergency medicine Australasia 2005-08, Vol.17 (4), p.401-404
Main Authors: Townend, Bradley S, Hanson, Julian A, Sturm, Jonathan W, Whyte, Scott
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acyclovir - therapeutic use
Aged, 80 and over
Confusion - etiology
Diagnosis, Differential
encephalitis
Encephalitis, Herpes Simplex - cerebrospinal fluid
Encephalitis, Herpes Simplex - complications
Encephalitis, Herpes Simplex - diagnosis
Encephalitis, Herpes Simplex - virology
Female
herpes simplex
Herpesvirus 1, Human - isolation & purification
Humans
stroke
Stroke - diagnosis
Treatment Outcome
virus
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Description
Summary:Viral encephalitis is associated with significant morbidity and mortality, particularly when appropriate management is omitted as a result of delayed diagnosis. A case of herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV‐1) encephalitis is presented, demonstrating that the presentation of confusion, speech difficulties and fever with non‐specific early brain CT appearances can easily be misdiagnosed as pneumonia with stroke. This case highlights the need for increased awareness of HSV‐1 encephalitis among emergency physicians and radiologists, given that the early spectrum of clinical and CT findings can mimic the more common diagnoses of sepsis and stroke.
ISSN:1742-6731
1742-6723
DOI:10.1111/j.1742-6723.2005.00765.x