Facial herpes zoster complicated by cerebral oedema in the course of encephalitis

Herpes zoster is the result of the reactivation of the varicella-zoster virus (VZV), which remains dormant in the sensory ganglia. The clinical presentation is characterized by a unilateral vesicular rash occurring on an erythematous background and most commonly affecting one dermatome of the skin. An extremely rare complication of herpes zoster is encephalitis, which occurs in approximately 0.2% of cases. It involves fever, headache, nausea, vomiting, impaired consciousness, hallucinations, and balance disturbances in addition to the rash. The study presents a case of a 71-year-old female patient hospitalized in the Dermatology Clinic due to zoster on the left side of her face, accompanied by the above symptoms that occurred 2 days before admission and brain oedema observed in the head computer tomography (CT), constituting the clinical picture of VZV-related encephalitis.