[Encephalitis in a renal transplantation patient]

The patient was a 55 year-old-woman with chronic renal failure due to idiopathic mesngial deposition of Ig A. She received a second allograft of a kidney from a cadaver. Results of a preoperative serologic Ig G tests for EBV and CMV were positive. She was given triple-drug immunosuppressive therapy, consisting of cyclosporine,azathioprine, and steroids. Seven years later, azathioprine was changed to mycophenolate mofetil. One year later, she was admitted to the hospital with a three to four week history of vertigo (which did not improve after sulpiride was administrated) and an influenza-like syndrome. A CT scan of the brain appeared normal, so paroxysmal positional vertigo was the diagnosis. Two weeks after admission to the hospital, the patient reported visual hallucinations and impairment of consciousness. Results of laboratory tests were leukocyte increase (polymorphonuclear leukocytes), anemia, hyponatremia and renal failure. Chest radiography, brain CT, and electroencephalography revealed no pathologic signs. The CSF examination revealed 300 cells/ml (79% PMNL), glucose 63 mg/dl, protein 45 mg/dl. Six hours later the treatment was initiated with ampicillin, ceftriaxone and ganciclovir iv, she experienced seizures that affected the left side of her body, but without interictal recovery. The patient required intubation and mechanical ventilation in the intensive care unit. An MRI of the brain images, revealed high signal-intensity regions indicating lesions on the bulb, protuberance, mesencephalon, left thalamus and parenchyma adjacent to the corpus callosum (fig. 1). Six days later, the patient partially recovered consciousness, and she had not neurologic sequelae. Intubation was terminated. As soon as PCR revealed EBV DNA in CSF samples, the treatment with ceftriaxone and ampicillin was discontinued. Treatment with ganciclovir was maintained for 8 weeks (4 weeks with iv and another 4 weeks with oral treatment). On day 35, the examination of a specimen of CSF revealed: glucose 46, protein 78, 15 cells/ml (100% lymphocytes). The patient went home on day 55 after admission to our hospital. She regained her normal neurologic function. Three weeks later MRI, showed reduction of the size of the lesions and the lesions on the brain stem had disappeared.