This site is intended for healthcare professionals

Sign in
Go to /sign-in page

You can view 5 more pages before signing in

Treatment

Authoring team

Treatment is usually empirical to begin with, unless there is a clear idea of the aetiology. Thus, modalities include:

  • intravenous acyclovir, to cover herpes simplex. Given before the patient enters coma, this treatment has massively improved the prognosis.
  • intravenous broad spectrum antibiotics
  • intravenous mannitol, to reduce cerebral oedema
  • intravenous dextrose or dextrose saline, to maintain the blood glucose. The usual fluid management is restriction to two thirds maintenance, again to reduce cerebral oedema.

Other measures are supportive.

Reference:

  1. Ellul M, Solomon T. Acute encephalitis - diagnosis and management. Clin Med (Lond). 2018 Mar;18(2):155-159

Create an account to add page annotations

Create a free account

Annotations allow you to add information to this page that would be handy to have on hand during a consultation. E.g. a website or number. This information will always show when you visit this page.

The content herein is provided for informational purposes and does not replace the need to apply professional clinical judgement when diagnosing or treating any medical condition. A licensed medical practitioner should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions.

Connect

Copyright 2024 Oxbridge Solutions Limited, a subsidiary of OmniaMed Communications Limited. All rights reserved. Any distribution or duplication of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited. Oxbridge Solutions receives funding from advertising but maintains editorial independence.