Acute viral encephalitis: its diagnosis and outcome

Area of Science:

• Neurology
• Infectious Diseases
• Pathology

Background:

• Acute viral encephalitis is a serious neurological condition.
• Classifying encephalitis is crucial for understanding prognosis and treatment.
• Distinguishing between primary viral and post-infection encephalitis is clinically important.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review clinical features, investigations, and outcomes of acute viral encephalitis.
• To classify patients into primary viral encephalitis and post-infection encephalitis groups.
• To analyze mortality and morbidity across different encephalitis classifications.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective review of 60 patients with acute viral encephalitis over 15 years.
• Classification based on etiological confirmation, undetermined type, or post-infectious presentation.
• Analysis of clinical data, virological studies, CSF, EEG, neuroradiology, and pathological findings.

Main Results:

• 12 primary viral, 29 undetermined viral, and 19 post-infection encephalitis cases identified.
• Herpes simplex virus encephalitis showed the highest mortality.
• Significant morbidity was observed across all encephalitis types, including post-infection.

Conclusions:

• Clinical classification of viral encephalitis is supported by pathological findings.
• Mortality varies significantly, with herpes simplex virus encephalitis being the most severe.
• Considerable neurological morbidity is a common outcome in acute viral encephalitis.