[Differential diagnosis in inflammatory and vascular brain diseases]

The course of the disease was analysed from the standpoint of the diagnostic value of various clinical manifestations in a group of 200 patients with preliminary diagnosis of encephalitis or meningoencephalitis and in a group of 200 cases with finally established diagnosis of these diseases. In the group of patients referred as encephalitis cases the diagnosis was erroneous in 31% of cases, while in the group with finally established diagnosis of encephalitis the proportion of patients with erroneous initial diagnosis was 42%. In two-thirds of cases with erroneous diagnosis in the first group cerebral circulatory failure was the cause. On the other hand, however, these circulatory disturbances were a frequent cause of diagnostic errors in cases of encephalitis. After establishing the frequency of different pathological manifestations in the group of encephalitis and in the group with cerebrovascular disturbances the most characteristic symptoms and signs in each of these groups were listed.