Open AccessMania presenting as a VZV encephalitis in the context of HIV
Author(s) -
Oliver George,
Jessica Henderson Daniel,
Sophie Forsyth,
D. Enright
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
bmj case reports
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.231
H-Index - 26
ISSN - 1757-790X
DOI - 10.1136/bcr-2019-230512
Subject(s) - medicine , mania , hypomania , encephalitis , context (archaeology) , pediatrics , varicella zoster virus , population , human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) , presentation (obstetrics) , psychiatry , bipolar disorder , immunology , virus , mood , surgery , paleontology , environmental health , biology
Acute encephalitis can be life-threatening, especially in the immunocompromised population. Viruses are the main infectious agents, with varicella zoster virus (VZV) a common cause. Neuropsychiatric symptoms are well documented, but it is rare for mania to be the only symptom on presentation. Here, we report a case of hypomania in a 31-year-old white British heterosexual man who following investigation was found to be HIV positive and subsequently diagnosed with VZV encephalitis. To date, we are unaware of any similarly reported cases. It is important to raise awareness of atypical HIV presentations to improve clinical outcomes for patients.