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Abstract Details

Seizing the Diagnosis: A Rare Case of Fatal West Nile Virus Ventriculitis
Infectious Disease
P11 - Poster Session 11 (11:45 AM-12:45 PM)
3-003
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An 81 year-old male with chronic pain was admitted to the hospital with increasing weakness, nonbloody diarrhea, emesis, and fever the days prior. He presented afebrile, alert and oriented, with unremarkable labs. The following morning, he had two seizures and received lorazepam and levetiracetam load prior to intubation and transfer to a quaternary care hospital. He presented afebrile with WBC of 15, which normalized over the next few days. Upon arrival, he was not following commands and had slight withdrawal of extremities to pain. Initial EEG showed slow, poorly organized, poorly reactive background with no seizures or epileptiform discharges. MRI showed diffusion restriction in the lateral ventricles, prompting empiric treatment for presumed ventriculitis. Lumbar puncture was notable for  glucose 54, protein 248, and WBC 124 with 48% lymphocytes. On day two of admission, the patient became persistently febrile to 39°C and intermittently tachypneic. HIV testing was negative. He tested positive for West Nile Virus (WNV) IgG/IgM in serum and WNV IgG in CSF, with positive WNV PCR. St. Louis Encephalitis Virus (SLEV) IgG was also positive in serum. IVIG and dexamethasone were started and antimicrobials discontinued. After two weeks of little improvement, he was extubated, transitioned to comfort measures, and died the next day.

This appears to be only the third case reported in the literature of WNV causing ventriculitis. Furthermore, WNV causes seizures in only 3-6 % of patients. Similar antigenic profiles of flaviviruses such as WNV and SLEV result in antibody cross-reactivity, which necessitates confirmatory testing. Plaque-reduction neutralization testing (PRNT) is the most specific test to detect antibodies to arboviruses, but is only available at a limited number of laboratories. The elderly are the most vulnerable to severe neuroinvasive WNV. Treatment remains limited to supportive therapy.
Authors/Disclosures
Matthew Cobler-Lichter, MD
PRESENTER
Dr. Cobler-Lichter has nothing to disclose.
Connie Chung, MD (University of Utah) Dr. Chung has nothing to disclose.
Madison Bangert, MD Dr. Bangert has nothing to disclose.
Stephanie Gelman, MD Dr. Gelman has nothing to disclose.
Peter Schloesser (Intermountain Medical Center) No disclosure on file
Shawn M. Smith, MD (Intermountain Medical Center) Dr. Smith has nothing to disclose.
Kevin T. Meier, MD (Intermountain Healthcare) Dr. Meier has nothing to disclose.
Dean Roller, MD (Intermountain Healthcare) Dr. Roller has nothing to disclose.
Monika Gross Ms. Gross has received personal compensation in the range of $10,000-$49,999 for serving as a Consultant with The Poise Project. Ms. Gross has a non-compensated relationship as a Executive Director with The Poise Project that is relevant to AAN interests or activities.
Kyle Hobbs, MD (Intermountain Neurosciences Institute) Dr. Hobbs has nothing to disclose.