Biomaterial Database

Reactivation of herpes simplex virus-1 following epilepsy surgery. 2015

Sérgio Monteiro de Almeida, and Ana Crippa, and Cristina Cruz, and Luciano de Paola, and Luciana Paula de Souza, and Lucia Noronha, and Luis Fernando Bleggi Torres, and Julio A S Koneski, and Luis Felipe Cavalli Pessa, and Meri Bordignon Nogueira, and Sonia Mara Raboni, and Carlos Eduardo Silvado, and Luine Rosele Vidal

Laboratório de Virologia, 1-4 Hospital de Clínicas, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil ; Instituto de Pesquisa Pelé Pequeno Príncipe & Faculdades Pequeno Príncipe, Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil.

OBJECTIVE The present study reports a case of encephalitis due to herpes simplex virus-1 (HSV-1), following surgical manipulation of the site of a primary infection. METHODS Herpes simplex virus-1 infection was confirmed by CSF PCR and DNA sequencing. RESULTS The patient was an 11-year-old girl who required temporal lobe surgery for epilepsy. She had meningoencephalitis due to HSV at the age of 20 months, and she was treated with acyclovir. Three years later, the patient developed uncontrolled seizures that became more frequent and changed in character at 11 years of age. On the 12th postoperative day, she developed fever and seizures, and she was diagnosed with HSV-1 by positive CSF PCR. She was treated with acyclovir (30 mg/kg/day for 21 days). In this report, we describe the patient and review the relevant literature. CONCLUSIONS The authors stress the potential risk of reactivation of HSV encephalitis after intracranial surgery. Herpes simplex virus encephalitis must be considered in neurosurgical patients who develop postoperative seizures and fever.