Neurological complications of varicella-zoster virus in human immunodeficiency virus-infected patients: changes in prevalence and diagnostic utility of polymerase chain reaction in cerebrospinal fluid.

Authors

Corral I, Quereda C, Antela A, et al. 

Institution

Servicio de Neurología, Hospital Ramón y Cajal, Madrid, Spain. icorral.hrc@salud.madrid.org

Source

J Neurovirol 2003 Feb; 9(1) :129-35.

Abstract

Neurological complications caused by varicella-zoster virus (VZV) were diagnosed in 13 human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients in our hospital. There was a favorable influence of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) in the prevalence of these disorders among acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) patients: Since 1996, only 1 of 961 AIDS patients had VZV neurological disease, compared to 9 of 1088 patients before that year (P =.02). Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) detected VZV DNA in cerebrospinal from 4 of 5 patients with VZV neurological disease, and from 2 of 130 HIV-infected patients with other neurological diseases (sensitivity 0.8, specificity 0.98 [95% confidence intervals 0.45-1 and 0.96-1, respectively], positive predictive value 0.94).

Mesh

Adolescent
Adult
Antiretroviral Therapy, Highly Active
DNA, Viral
Encephalitis, Varicella Zoster
Female
HIV Infections
Herpesvirus 3, Human
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Polymerase Chain Reaction
Prevalence

Language

eng

Pub Type(s)

Journal Article

PubMed ID

12587077