Why the study?
Does polymerase chain reaction improve the diagnosis of herpes simplex virus encephalitis compared to serology in patients with suspected infection?
Does polymerase chain reaction improve the diagnosis of herpes simplex virus encephalitis compared to serology in patients with suspected infection?
PCR of cerebrospinal fluid is a useful diagnostic tool for herpes simplex virus encephalitis, identifying more cases than serology alone and correlating with symptom severity.
PCR may detect additional HSV encephalitis cases missed by serology; leaves open prospective validation before changing practice.
Cerebrospinal fluid samples from 257 patients with suspected herpes simplex virus encephalitis were prospectively analyzed by herpes simplex virus polymerase chain reaction. The polymerase chain reaction indicated herpes simplex virus encephalitis in 9 serologically proven cases and in 14 additional patients. Increased polymerase chain reaction signals were observed together with more severe neurological symptoms (P < 0.01) and within the first days of acyclovir treatment (P < 0.05).
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Puchhammer‐Stöckl et al. (1993) studied this question.
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