Herpes simplex virus encephalitis during childhood: importance of brain biopsy diagnosis

Abstract

Twelve consecutive pediatric patients 1 day to 11 years of age with suspected herpes simplex virus (HSV) encephalitis underwent brain biopsy. Five were proved to have HSV encephalitis; seven had subdural empyema, malignant glioma, enteroviral encephalitis, (one each), and presumed viral encephalitis, non-HSV (four). Neither epidemiologic, clinical, nor noninvasive laboratory tests were able to help differentiate the two groups of patients. The EEG was more sensitive than the CT scan in demonstrating focal lesions in early HSV encephalitis. In patients with HSV encephalitis, the mean time from hospital admission to appropriate antiviral chemotherapy was 3 days, and the outcome of HSV encephalitis was uniformly poor. In patients with febrile encephalitis-like syndromes with CSF pleocytosis, focal neurologic signs, or other localizing test results (EEG, CT), anticipatory antiviral chemotherapy and brain biopsy are the only hope to prevent the poor outcome associated with HSV encephalitis, to exclude other treatable conditions, and to avoid multiple types of unnecessary empiric therapies.