UNILATERAL HYPERPERFUSION IN BRAIN-PERFUSION SPECT PREDICTS POOR-PROGNOSIS IN ACUTE ENCEPHALITIS

We studied 88 patients with acute encephalitis using hexamethylpropyle neamine oxime and single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT). All patients had been initially treated with intravenous acyclovir. Th e etiology could be disclosed in 37 patients (42%), which included 15 patients with herpes simplex encephalitis, 7 with varicella-zoster enc ephalitis, and 29 with other encephalitides (Mycoplasma, adenovirus, i nfluenza, rotavirus, rubella, Epstein-Barr, arbovirus, syphilis, and t uberculosis). Unilateral hyperperfusion in SPECT was an independent pr edictor of poor prognosis, whereas neither clinical outcome variables, such as seizures, state of consciousness, and focal neurologic findin gs, nor CSF or EEG findings were not. Focal unilateral hyperperfusion is an indicator of severe inflammation of the brain tissue and predict s a poor outcome as assessed in terms of activities of daily living af ter recovery.