Pediatric Hemorrhagic Brainstem Encephalitis Associated with HHV-7 Infection

Alex J. Fay, Michael J. Noetzel, Soe S. Mar

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

17 Scopus citations

Abstract

Background Human herpesviruses-6 and -7 have been associated with febrile seizures and with encephalitis, the latter predominantly in immunocompromised individuals. Acute hemorrhagic encephalitis is frequently a fatal disease that can occur in the setting of viral infection or can be a postinfectious phenomenon, often with no cause identified. Although hemorrhagic encephalitis has been reported with human herpesvirus-6 infection, only one individual, an immunocompromised child, has been documented with human herpesvirus-7 infection. The role of immunosuppression is not well-established in the management of this rare condition. Patient description We present an 11-year-old boy with hemorrhagic brainstem encephalitis who underwent extensive infectious and autoimmune testing, positive only for human herpesvirus-7 in the cerebrospinal fluid. The patient recovered after treatment with intravenous immunoglobulin, high-dose steroids, and plasma exchange. Conclusion This is the first report of hemorrhagic brainstem encephalitis with human herpesvirus-7 in a previously healthy individual, adding to existing reports of late-onset human herpesvirus-7 infection associated with encephalitis in children. It also underscores that aggressive immunosuppression may be used early in the course of this disorder and may be beneficial for recovery.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)523-526
Number of pages4
JournalPediatric Neurology
Volume53
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - 2015

Keywords

  • HHV-7
  • hemorrhagic encephalitis
  • herpesvirus
  • pediatric

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