[9 cases of encephalitis in an epidemic outbreak of exanthematous diseases]

We report here nine cases of encephalitis secondary to exanthematous diseases diagnosed from March to June 1990 at the University Hospital in Monterrey, Mexico. Two of the cases were secondary to measles, three to rubella, and four to varicella. One patient with varicella died, and the histopathological study showed findings compatible with viral encephalitis. The sex distribution was four males and five females with ages ranging from two to fourteen years. The most common clinical manifestations were hemiparesia, intracranial hypertension, meningism and altered consciousness. The CSF examination showed lymphocytic pleocytosis (mean = 295 cells), increased protein levels (mean = 118 mg/dL) and a normal glucose value in eight cases. These findings and the presence of an exanthematous disease suggested viral invasion of the CNS. Magnetic resonance imaging showed high intensity signal areas mainly in the frontal and temporal lobes. In this paper we compare the relative incidence of encephalitis secondary to exanthematous diseases in our geographical area during the last four years.