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Herpes Simplex Virus Encephalitis in Geriatric Patients

  • Infectious Diseases in the Elderly (M Schilling, Section Editor)
  • Published:
Current Geriatrics Reports Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose of Review

Herpes simplex virus encephalitis (HSVE) is a rare, devastating infectious disease of the brain. We reviewed published case series to determine whether epidemiology, clinical characteristics, and prognosis of HSVE differed in geriatric patients.

Recent Findings

Geriatric patients have a higher incidence of HSVE and a worse prognosis than the rest of the adult population.

Summary

The gold standard to confirm HSVE diagnosis is to demonstrate HSV DNA in cerebrospinal fluid using polymerase chain reaction. Antiviral treatment with acyclovir prevents HSVE-related morbidity and mortality if started on time. Diagnosis and treatment of HSVE pose specific challenges due to comorbidities and medical conditions presenting with similar signs and symptoms commonly encountered in geriatric medicine. Thus, timely empirical treatment and confirmation of diagnosis in this patient population relies largely on astuteness of the clinician.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank medical writer Beril Tavsanli Sili, PhD, for giving the manuscript its final form.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology, Marmara University School of Medicine, Istanbul, Turkey

    Uluhan Sili

  2. Department of Neurology, Istanbul Okmeydani Research and Training Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey

    Mustafa Emir Tavsanli

  3. Division of Geriatrics, Department of Internal Medicine, Marmara University School of Medicine, Istanbul, Turkey

    Asli Tufan

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  1. Uluhan Sili
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  2. Mustafa Emir Tavsanli
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Correspondence to Uluhan Sili.

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Mustafa Emir Tavsanli, Uluhan Sili, and Asli Tufan declare no conflict of interest.

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This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Infectious Diseases in the Elderly

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Sili, U., Tavsanli, M.E. & Tufan, A. Herpes Simplex Virus Encephalitis in Geriatric Patients. Curr Geri Rep 6, 34–41 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13670-017-0198-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13670-017-0198-9

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