Hello and welcome to the Zero to Finals podcast.

My name is Tom and in this episode I'm going to be talking to you about

pediatric encephalitis.

And if you want to follow along with written notes on this topic, you can follow along

at Zero tofinals.com slash encephalitis or in the Infect section of the zero definals pediatrics book.

Let's get straight into it. Encaphalitis means inflammation of the brain. This can be the result of

infective or non-infective causes. Non-infective causes are autoimmune, meaning that

antibodies are created that target the brain tissue.

The most common cause of encephalitis is infection with a virus.

Bacterial or fungal encephalitis is also possible, although much more rare in the UK.

The most common viral cause is herpes simplex virus or HSV.

In children, the most common cause is the herpesy Sympx virus type 1 from a cold sore.

In neonates, the most common cause is herpes simplex type 2, which originates from genital warts contracted during birth from the mother.

Other viral causes include varicelazoster virus, or VZV, associated with chicken pox,

cytomaglovirus associated with immunodeficiency,

Epstein-Barr virus, which causes infectious mononucleosis,

entrovirus, adenovirus, and the influenza virus. It's important to ask patients about

vaccinations as polio, mumps, rubella and measles viruses can also cause encephalitis, and this may be associated with

missing the routine vaccination schedule. How does encephalitis present? Well, some features that

should make you think about encephalitis are altered consciousness, altered cognition, unusual behavior, acute onset of focal

neurological symptoms, acute onset of focal seizures, and fever. Children with features of encephalitis need some key

investigations to help establish the diagnosis. They need a lumbar puncture sending the cerebral spinal fluid,

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