[Herpetic encephalitis in adults: 23 cases].
OBJECTIVE
To study the clinical presentation, diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of the herpetic encephalitis in our environment.


METHODS
During the past 12 years, 23 adults (age > 15 years) were treated for herpetic encephalitis in our centre.


RESULTS
There were 14 males and 9 females. Ages ranged from 18 to 84 years (mean, 52.30 +/- 18.64 years). The hospital stay ranged from 5 to 64 days (mean, 26.74 +/- 15.41 days). Eleven patients were managed in the intensive care unit and nine patients required mechanical ventilation. The most frequent clinical features they were the level of conscience decrease and fever. The lymphocytic pleiocytosis was the most frequent discovery in cerebrospinal fluid. The temporal lobe lesions in the computed tomography scan appeared in 14 patients (61%). Four patients died, seven patients were asymptomatic or with minimum sequels and twelve patients developed they were disabled.


CONCLUSIONS
The herpetic encephalitis is an uncommon illness. Intravenous acyclovir is recommended treatment and the corticosteroids use is controverted. The delay in the treatment beginning worsens the prognosis. Less than a third of the patients achieve the functional independence to discharge hospital.
Burón Mediavilla
F J
FJ
Servicio de Medicina Intensiva, Hospital Universitario Marqués de Valdecilla, Santander. fjburon@humv.es
Rodríguez Borregán
J C
JC
Miñambres
E
E
González Fernández
C
C
González Castro
A
A
Holanda Peña
M S
MS
Quesada Suescun
A
A
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D020803:Encephalitis, Herpes Simplex / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000401:mortality / Q000628:therapy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies