A Fatal Case of Encephalitis

Abstract

Encephalitis is a serious neurological condition; delayed diagnosis of encephalitis can cause significant mortality and morbidity. Even timely treatment may not be enough to save the patient. In this article we report a case of herpes encephalitis which was treated and discharged from the intensive care unit with cure, but readmitted with status epilepticus with a relapse of encephalitis. Herpes relapse was dismissed by PCR and although the diagnostic workup was inconclusive the patient was diagnosed as autoimmune encephalitis. The patient's seizures couldn't be controlled for 175 days and all treatment attempts failed to reverse the clinical situation. The patient was lost during the intensive care treatment.