clinical features
Last reviewed 01/2018
Encephalitis presents in a similar manner to an abscess:
- a short history of:
- headache
- pyrexia
- confusion
- vomiting
- an important negative is the absence of neck stiffness
- developing into:
- epilepsy
- focal neurological signs
- cognitive impairment
Clues to the origin of the encephalitis may be ascertained from the presentation:
- chickenpox encephalitis often has cerebellar involvement
- Herpes simplex encephalitis often presents with a fit and the most often involves the temporal lobe