West Nile virus encephalomyelitis in an immunocompromised patient

Abdulmunaim M. Eid, Mohammad Obadah Nakawah

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

We report a case of a 50-year-old immunocompromised woman who presented with acute encephalopathy and gait ataxia due to severe West Nile virus encephalomyelitis. The patient remarkably improved following early and sustained aggressive immunomodulation. Diagnosing West Nile neuroinvasive disease could be challenging without biochemical evidence of West Nile virus nucleic acid in the cerebrospinal fluid, a specific but not sensitive test. Although the neuroimaging findings in our patient could be considered “typical” for West Nile neuroinvasive disease, there is an overlap with the imaging abnormalities seen in other neuroinflammatory disorders presenting with acute leukoencephalopathy. Hence, we review West Nile neuroinvasive disease imaging characteristics and the differential diagnosis of acute leukoencephalopathy.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)4499-4506
Number of pages8
JournalRadiology Case Reports
Volume18
Issue number12
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 2023

Keywords

  • Acute leukoencephalopathy
  • Encephalomyelitis
  • Neuroimaging
  • West Nile virus

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Radiology Nuclear Medicine and imaging

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