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American Journal of Medical Case Reports. 2021, 9(5), 278-280
DOI: 10.12691/AJMCR-9-5-4
Case Report

Varicella Zoster Viral Meningitis in an Immune-competent Young Female without a Rash or a Fever

Abdalla Khalil1, , Khalil Hossenbux1 and Yusuf Ibidapo1

1Acute Medicine Department, Princess Royal University Hospital, King’s College Trust, London, UK

Pub. Date: February 23, 2021
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Cite this paper

Abdalla Khalil, Khalil Hossenbux and Yusuf Ibidapo. Varicella Zoster Viral Meningitis in an Immune-competent Young Female without a Rash or a Fever. American Journal of Medical Case Reports. 2021; 9(5):278-280. doi: 10.12691/AJMCR-9-5-4

Abstract

Viral meningitis is the most common identified cause of meningitis in the United Kingdom and represents a challenge to diagnose early and a burden on health care service. A young healthy female was admitted to the hospital with a headache, nausea, vomiting, meningeal irritation, and a strong family history of a cerebral aneurysm. She had no fever or rash and her cerebrospinal fluid CSF showed lymphocytic pleocytosis with high protein and normal glucose. Initially, she was treated empirically with antiviral and antibiotics for acute meningitis and her final workup confirmed the varicella zoster viral meningitis. Rarely, Varicella zoster viral meningitis can affect immune-competent patients. It can also rarely present without a skin lesion or fever. Virology study of the cerebrospinal fluid may reveal the diagnosis of viral meningitis early and reduce the health care burden.

Keywords

viral meningitis, Varicella zoster virus, immune-competent, skin lesions

Copyright

Creative CommonsThis work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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