Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Case Reports
. 2020 Jun 22:21:e00884.
doi: 10.1016/j.idcr.2020.e00884. eCollection 2020.

A case of herpes simplex 2 encephalitis with an unusual radiographic manifestation

Fang-Yu Liu  1   2 , Christopher El Mouhayyar  1   2 , Rishi Mamtani  1   2 , Fabian Dammann  1   2 , Tinzar Basein  1   2   3
Affiliations
Case Reports

A case of herpes simplex 2 encephalitis with an unusual radiographic manifestation

Fang-Yu Liu et al. IDCases. .

Abstract

Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV) continues to be an important pathogen inflicting encephalitis in adults and children globally that entails high morbidity and mortality. Prompt diagnosis and treatment are the keys to minimize potential sequelae of the disease. Although HSV encephalitis-1(HSVE-1) is well recognized for its radiographic manifestation of temporal lobe involvement owing to its pathogenesis, radiographic features of HSVE-2 are less uniform. Lumbar puncture with HSV PCR testing is the gold standard for diagnosis. However, when lumbar puncture is not immediately obtainable, consideration of HSVE should be entertained in compatible clinical setting even in the absence of characteristic radiographic finding. We report a case of type 2 HSVE with atypical radiographic manifestation involving bilateral basal ganglia.

Keywords: Encephalitis; HSV-2; MRI.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Figs. 1 and 2
Figs. 1 and 2
MRI brain with contrast showing marked edema as well as enhancement in the bilateral basal ganglia, frontal, parietal, occipital lobes and brainstem.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Venkatesan A., Tunkel A.R., Bloch K.C. Case definitions, diagnostic algorithms, and priorities in encephalitis: consensus statement of the international encephalitis consortium. Clin Infect Dis. 2013;57:1114–1128. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Venkatesan A. Epidemiology and outcomes of acute encephalitis. Curr Opin Neurol. 2015;28:277–282. - PubMed
    1. Steiner I., Benninger F. Update on herpes virus infections of the nervous system. Curr Neurol Neurosci Rep. 2013;13:414. - PubMed
    1. Aurelius E., Johansson B., Sköldenberg B., Forsgren M. Encephalitis in immunocompetent patients due to herpes simplex virus type 1 or 2 as determined by type‐specific polymerase chain reaction and antibody assays of cerebrospinal fluid. J Med Virol. 1993;39:179–186. - PubMed
    1. Dennett C., Cleator G.M., Klapper P.E. HSV‐1 and HSV‐2 in herpes simplex encephalitis: a study of sixty‐four cases in the United Kingdom. J Med Virol. 1997;53:1–3. - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources