Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39371868›Full record

ArticleCureus2024

A Dual Diagnostic Dilemma: Viral Encephalitis and Cerebral Venous Thrombosis.

Adeel Khan, Malik Hasnat Ul Hassan Khan, Salman Ullah Khan, Khizar Hayat, Ayesha Khan, Muhammad Arsalan, Muhammad Hamza Mushtaq, Haider Sarfaraz, Muhammad Abbas

Abstract readCase Reports
In one paragraph

Article in Cureus, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Adeel KhanInternal Medicine, Khyber Medical College, Peshawar, PAK.
Malik Hasnat Ul Hassan KhanInternal Medicine, Medical Teaching Institute, Lady Reading Hospital, Peshawar, PAK.
Salman Ullah KhanMedical Oncology, The Mater Misericordiae University Hospital, Dublin, IRL.
Khizar HayatInternal Medicine, Medical Teaching Institute, Lady Reading Hospital, Peshawar, PAK.
Ayesha KhanInternal Medicine, Naseer Teaching Hospital, Peshawar, PAK.
Muhammad ArsalanInternal Medicine, Medical Teaching Institute, Lady Reading Hospital, Peshawar, PAK.
Muhammad Hamza MushtaqInternal Medicine, Medical Teaching Institute, Lady Reading Hospital, Peshawar, PAK.
Haider SarfarazInternal Medicine, Medical Teaching Institute, Lady Reading Hospital, Peshawar, PAK.
Muhammad AbbasInternal Medicine, Medical Teaching Institute, Lady Reading Hospital, Peshawar, PAK.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Herpes encephalitis is caused by herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) or type 2 (HSV-2). One of the infrequent complications of herpes encephalitis is cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT) because of the inflammation in the brain parenchyma. We report a unique and challenging case of a 14-year-old female patient presenting with confusion, headache, and fever. On examination, there was no neck rigidity and a negative Kernig's sign with no focal neurological deficits. Systemic examination was done to rule out other systems as a cause for her symptoms, and she was empirically treated as a case of encephalitis. An initial computed tomography (CT) scan of the brain without contrast was normal except for a subtle hypoattenuating area involving the right thalamus. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) analysis revealed viral infection while we awaited the results of CSF polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and culture analysis for specific microorganisms. Her Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) deteriorated following an episode of generalized tonic-clonic seizure, and she was subsequently catheterized and an enteral feeding tube (nasogastric tube) was passed. CSF PCR detected HSV-1. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and magnetic resonance venography (MRV) of the brain with contrast revealed encephalitis with superior sagittal sinus, transverse sinus, straight sinus, and vein of Galen thrombosis yielding a diagnosis of HSV encephalitis with concurrent cerebral venous thrombosis. Hence, this required a very specialized and cautious approach to her treatment. She was started on intravenous acyclovir and subcutaneous enoxaparin, and she recovered over the next few days. She did, however, develop acyclovir-induced renal toxicity in the absence of another offending agent, and the dose of the acyclovir was adjusted accordingly. A diagnosis of CVT, although rarely described, should be systematically suspected in patients with HSV encephalitis presenting with sudden deterioration or unexpected neurological findings in the early phase of treatment or inadequate response to treatment for better management and outcomes.

Indexed as

cerebral venous and dural sinus thrombosiscerebrovascular injuryherpes simplex virus type 1meningoencephalitisviral encephalitis

Identifiers

PMID39371868
PMCPMC11456327

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