Clinical features

Encephalitis presents in a similar manner to an abscess (1):

• 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

Reference

1. Ellul M, Solomon T. Acute encephalitis - diagnosis and management. Clin Med (Lond). 2018 Mar;18(2):155-159