Herpes zoster infection occurs owing to reactivation of varicella zoster virus and classically manifests as a vesicular eruption involving a single dermatome. Disseminated herpes zoster -defined as having greater than twenty vesicles outside the primary or adjacent dermatome -is uncommon and typically occurs in immunocompromised individuals. Central nervous system complications during or following a zoster outbreak are exceedingly rare. Encephalitis is reported to affect only 0.1-0.2% of patients and occurs more often in disseminated cases and in outbreaks involving those dermatomes in close proximity to the central nervous system. We present an elderly woman with disseminated herpes zoster and altered mental status who was subsequently diagnosed with varicella zoster virus encephalitis and describe the characteristics of patients with disseminated zoster who developed varicella zoster virus encephalitis.
A 5-year-old previously healthy girl presented to our hospital with 10 days of periorbital edema, abdominal pain, muscle weakness, and progressive fatigue. Four days prior to admission, her pediatrician prescribed diphenhydramine and fexofenadine for a possible allergic reaction, and polyethylene glycol 3,350 for constipation, but the patient showed no signs of improvement. She became progressively more fatigued, and 1 day prior to admission mild extremity edema was noted. The patient denied fever, vomiting, diarrhea, cough, joint pain or stiffness, recent rash, or trauma. She had visited Mexico 1 month prior. There was no significant family history. Outpatient testing revealed a negative urinalysis.In the emergency department, the patient was noted to be tachycardic (heart rate of 132 beats per minute) but otherwise well-appearing. Physical examination was significant for mild hepatomegaly, mild non-pitting edema of the bilateral upper and lower extremities, mild periorbital edema, and bilateral erythematous patches (2 cm × 2 cm) on her knees (Figure 1). Initial emergency department testing was significant for hypoalbuminemia (2.9 g/dL), transaminitis (aspartate aminotransferase [AST] of 231 units/L, alanine aminotransferase [ALT] of 139 units/L), and a mildly elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate (24 mm/h).Initial differential diagnosis included autoimmune hepatitis, viral hepatitis, protein-losing enteropathy, and viral myocarditis. Coagulation studies and glucose challenge test were normal (suggesting normal synthetic liver function), hepatitis panel was negative, and the AST to ALT ratio of 231:139 made a primary hepatic etiology less likely. Sustained tachycardia prompted further cardiology testing; however, electrocardiogram and echocardiogram revealed normal cardiac function.Generalized fatigue and subjective muscle weakness remained a prominent symptom, and on further questioning the family then disclosed a history of intermittent facial rash and erythema above her eyelids (Figure 2). Therefore, a systemic inflammatory etiology was explored.
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