Clinical and Laboratory Findings That Differentiate Herpes Simplex Virus Central Nervous System Disease from Enteroviral Meningitis
Table 1
Characteristics of all included viral meningitis patients ().
Total (%)
Demographics
Age (mean, SD)
33.5 (15.6)
Female
95 (57.2)
Admitted
104 (62.7)
Returned to emergency department <2 weeks
27 (16.3)
Immunocompromised
15 (9.0)
Death attributed to meningitis
1 (0.6)
Virology
Confirmed HSV
29 (17.5)
Suspected HSV
11 (6.6)
Confirmed EnV
19 (11.4)
Suspected EnV
107 (64.5)
History
Headache
157 (94.8)
Nausea/vomiting ()
115 (69.3)
Altered mental status
22 (13.3)
Neck pain ()
106 (63.9)
Photophobia ()
81 (48.8)
Seizure
10 (6.0)
Physical exam
Neurological deficits
22 (13.3)
Rash
24 (14.5)
Nuchal rigidity, pain with flexion ()
77 (46.4)
Mean systolic blood pressure (SD)
127.9 (16.6)
Mean diastolic blood pressure (SD)
73.2 (11.8)
Mean heart rate (SD)
90.2 (19.2)
Mean respiratory rate (SD)
18.3 (4.7)
Mean temperature (SD)
37.4 (1.1)
Investigations performed
Computed tomography head
115 (69.3)
Magnetic resonance imaging brain
31 (18.6)
Electroencephalogram
11 (6.6)
Data presented as (%) or mean ± SD: standard deviation. identifies where frequency is <166, as information was not documented. EnV: enterovirus; HSV: herpes simplex virus.
