Post-Infectious Encephalitis: Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis, Treatment- Intravenous Steroids

Encephalitis- This is a medical disorder in which there is inflammation of brain as a result of some form of medical condition. When there is an inflammation of brain as an after effect of a bout of measles, mumps etc., then a condition arises called Post-Infectious Encephalitis. In this article, we will discuss in greater detail about Post-Infectious Encephalitis.

The meaning of Encephalitis is inflammation of brain. This inflammation can occur as a primary illness or as a result of some another illness. If this Encephalitis occurs after a bout of infection then it is called as Post-Infectious Encephalitis. This is a pretty rare form of disease condition.

Primary Encephalitis is a medical condition in which the infectious agent like a bacteria or virus directly enters the central nervous system or the brain. This is generally caused from mosquitoes or ticks. Post-Infectious Encephalitis is also a disease condition of central nervous system but it generally occurs as a rare complication of some form of viral illness or as a result of some vaccines. Post-infectious Encephalitis generally develops after a bout of chickenpox, measles, or vaccination against measles.

• Headaches
• Fever
• Neck stiffness
• Alteration in level of consciousness

Post-Infectious Encephalitis generally occurs within a week to 10 days after symptoms of viral illness are seen like measles, chickenpox etc. Post-Infectious Encephalitis as a result of a vaccine may develop approximately three weeks after the vaccination.

There is no definitive way to diagnose this condition. MRI of the brain helps a long way in confirming the diagnosis. The MRI will reveal multifocal asymmetrical lesions throughout the white matter on T2 and FLAIR sequences.

The first line of treatment for Post-Infectious Encephalitis is high-dose intravenous steroids. Plasma exchanges and intravenous immunoglobulins have also been reported to be beneficial in Post-Infectious Encephalitis.