title: Clinico-radiological profile and outcome of dengue patients with central nervous system manifestations: A case series in an Eastern India tertiary care hospital.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Dengue, an acute viral disease, transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes, has a variable clinical spectrum ranging from asymptomatic infection to life-threatening dengue hemorrhagic fever and dengue shock syndrome. However, neurological complications, in general, are unusual but have been observed more frequently in the recent past, and some studies highlighted varied neurological complications during the course of illness. Although dengue is classically considered a nonneurotropic virus, there is increasing evidence for dengue viral neurotropism. In this study, we have evaluated clinico-radiological profile and outcome of nine serologically confirmed dengue patients having varied manifestations of central nervous system (CNS) involvement.
  
  
  METHODS
  All the consecutive patients presented with neurological complications with positive serology for dengue infection (IgM positivity) in Department of Medicine, in a tertiary care hospital in Eastern India from August 2013 to October 2014 were included in the study. These patients were subjected to a detailed clinical evaluation, laboratory assessment including complete hemogram, coagulation profile, liver function test, serum electrolytes, and routine CSF (Cerebrospinal Fluid) study with the exclusion of other common neuroinvasive pathogens.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Out of 9 patients with neurological complications associated with confirmed dengue infection, 2 (22%) patients had dengue encephalopathy, 5 (56%) patients have dengue encephalitis, 1 (11%) patient had dengue meningitis, and 1 (11%) patient had postdengue immune-mediated CNS involvement.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This case series reaffirms the occurrence of varied CNS manifestations in dengue virus infection and underlines the importance of inclusion of dengue in the differential diagnosis of acute encephalitis syndrome.
authors.affiliation: Department of General Medicine, Nil Ratan Sircar Medical College and Hospital, Kolkata, West Bengal, India.
authors.forename: Souren
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pal
authors.affiliation: Department of General Medicine, Nil Ratan Sircar Medical College and Hospital, Kolkata, West Bengal, India.
authors.forename: Kaushik
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sen
authors.affiliation: Department of General Medicine, Nil Ratan Sircar Medical College and Hospital, Kolkata, West Bengal, India.
authors.forename: Nirendra Mohan
authors.initials: NM
authors.lastname: Biswas
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Nil Ratan Sircar Medical College and Hospital, Kolkata, West Bengal, India.
authors.forename: Anirban
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ghosal
authors.affiliation: Department of General Medicine, Nil Ratan Sircar Medical College and Hospital, Kolkata, West Bengal, India.
authors.forename: S K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Rousan Jaman
authors.affiliation: Department of General Medicine, Nil Ratan Sircar Medical College and Hospital, Kolkata, West Bengal, India.
authors.forename: K Y
authors.initials: KY
authors.lastname: Yashavantha Kumar
keywords: Acute disseminated encephalomyelitis; dengue; encephalitis; facial nerve; meningitis; meningoencephalitis; meningoencephalomyelitis