[Atypical encephalitis in a 20-year-old soldier]

Nervenarzt. 2004 Feb;75(2):145-8. doi: 10.1007/s00115-003-1615-1.
[Article in German]

Abstract

We report a patient with encephalitis who had been diagnosed with an unspecific aetiology. During follow-up, pneumonia was identified due to Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection that could also be confirmed as causal for the brain inflammation. Despite the initially critical clinical situation, the patient's condition improved under specific antibiotic treatment. Pathophysiologic, differential diagnostic, and therapeutic implications are discussed, and guidelines for diagnosis are proposed.

Publication types

  • Case Reports
  • English Abstract

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Anti-Bacterial Agents
  • Antibodies, Bacterial / cerebrospinal fluid
  • Antibodies, Viral / cerebrospinal fluid
  • Brain / pathology
  • Brain Stem / pathology
  • Cerebral Ventricles / pathology
  • Dexamethasone / therapeutic use
  • Diagnosis, Differential
  • Disease Progression
  • Dominance, Cerebral / physiology
  • Drug Therapy, Combination / therapeutic use
  • Encephalitis, Herpes Simplex / diagnosis
  • Encephalitis, Herpes Simplex / immunology
  • Humans
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging
  • Male
  • Meningoencephalitis / diagnosis*
  • Meningoencephalitis / drug therapy
  • Military Personnel*
  • Mycoplasma Infections / diagnosis*
  • Mycoplasma Infections / drug therapy
  • Mycoplasma pneumoniae* / immunology
  • Neurologic Examination
  • Polymerase Chain Reaction
  • Quadriplegia / diagnosis
  • Quadriplegia / etiology
  • Thalamus / pathology

Substances

  • Anti-Bacterial Agents
  • Antibodies, Bacterial
  • Antibodies, Viral
  • Dexamethasone