Clinical features
Encephalitis presents in a similar manner to an abscess (1):
- a short history of:
- headache
- pyrexia
- confusion
- vomiting
- an important negative is the absence of neck stiffness
- developing into:
- epilepsy
- focal neurological signs
- cognitive impairment
Clues to the origin of the encephalitis may be ascertained from the presentation:
- chickenpox encephalitis often has cerebellar involvement
- Herpes simplex encephalitis often presents with a fit and the most often involves the temporal lobe
Reference
- Ellul M, Solomon T. Acute encephalitis - diagnosis and management. Clin Med (Lond). 2018 Mar;18(2):155-159
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