The clinical epidemiology, management, and outcomes of patients diagnosed with encephalitis in North Carolina, 2015-2020.

ABSTRACT:

Importance

Despite the relatively high mortality and the difficulty in diagnosis, nearly one-third of patients hospitalized with a documented diagnosis of encephalitis did not undergo a lumbar puncture (LP). When an LP was performed, pathogen-specific testing was greatly underutilized. Infectious etiologies were most common, but over 40% of cases were idiopathic at discharge. These findings suggest that there is a substantial opportunity to improve the quality of care through more accurate and timely diagnosis.

SUBMITTER: Fellner A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10729753 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature