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Review
. 2022 Oct;12(4):632-646.
doi: 10.1177/19418744221104778. Epub 2022 May 27.

Neurology of Acute Viral Infections

Jonathan D Krett  1 , J David Beckham  2   3 , Kenneth L Tyler  2   3 , Amanda L Piquet  2 , Lakshmi Chauhan  2 , Carla J Wallace  4 , Daniel M Pastula  2   5 , Ronak K Kapadia  1
Affiliations
Review

Neurology of Acute Viral Infections

Jonathan D Krett et al. Neurohospitalist. 2022 Oct.

Abstract

As specialists in acute neurology, neurohospitalists are often called upon to diagnose and manage acute viral infections affecting the nervous system. In this broad review covering the neurology of several acute viral infections, our aim is to provide key diagnostic and therapeutic pearls of practical use to the busy neurohospitalist. We will review acute presentations, diagnosis, and treatment of human herpesviruses, arboviruses, enteroviruses, and some vaccine-preventable viruses. The neurological effects of coronaviruses, including COVID-19, are not covered in this review.

Keywords: central nervous system viral diseases; encephalitis; infectious disease medicine; meningitis; meningoencephalitis.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Conflicting Interests: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Herpes simplex virus (HSV) encephalitis. Characteristic bilateral T2/FLAIR hyperintensity and edema of the temporal lobes with extension into the insular cortices and limbic system.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Varicella zoster virus (VZV) meningitis complicated by ischemic stroke. Brain MRI illustrates T2/FLAIR hyperintensity and diffusion restriction consistent with an ischemic stroke in the right anterior thalamus (A-B). T1 post-gadolinium images demonstrate subtle perivascular and leptomeningeal enhancement (C).
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
West Nile virus (WNV) encephalitis. Cerebellar, asymmetric midbrain and bilateral medial thalamic involvement are illustrated.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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