Question
A patient at Wuxi Children’s Hospital was diagnosed with severe viral encephalitis, confirmed to be simple herpesvirus encephalitis. After 13 days of treatment and entering the intensive care unit, the patient experienced coma. One week later, the patient regained consciousness without any fever or convulsive symptoms. How should this kind of condition be treated?
Answer
The diagnosis of viral encephalitis is typically based on clinical manifestations, cerebrospinal fluid analysis, electroencephalogram, and CT scan. In medical institutions with conditions, specific antibody or virus isolation tests may be conducted to identify the pathogen. Antiviral treatment can be adopted for confirmed or suspected cases. For example, acyclovir can be used for encephalitis caused by simple herpesvirus; other viral encephalitis can be treated with ribavirin and a combination of traditional Chinese and Western medicine