Vol. 4, Issue 8, Part B (2018)

Abstract
Introduction: Acute encephalitis is the clinical diagnosis of children with signs of inflammatory lesions in the brain. Very few studies of viral encephalitis with etiological diagnosis have emanated in India. We present the clinical and etiological study of acute viral encephalitis in children admitted in a tertiary care centre. Methods: A descriptive, observational study was conducted at a paediatric tertiary care centre in association with department of Pathology and Defence Research and Development Establishment, Gwalior. Blood, cerebrospinal fluid and serum samples were collected from Pediatrics patients aged 1 month to 15 years suffering from acute encephalitis admitted from 1^st July 2017 to 31^st June 2018. Viruses were identified by carrying out molecular tests (Polymerase Chain Reaction) of both serum and CSF. Results: Seventy eight patients were enrolled in our study. Viral etiology was confirmed in 16(20.5%) cases using Polymerase chain reaction. Most common virus identified in our study was Herpes Simplex virus-1 which was found in 7 (43.75%) cases, followed by Enterovirus-71 in 5 (31.25%), Epstein Barr Virus in 2 (12.5%) and Measles and Dengue virus in 1 case each (6.5%). Most common clinical feature was fever (91%) followed by altered sensorium, headache and seizures. Most of the cases showed increased cell count (80.76%), decreased sugar (55%) and increased protein (58.97%) in cerebrospinal fluid. Conclusions: New molecular techniques facilitate early diagnosis of viral encephalitis and can prove a big asset to the health care. Herpes simplex virus was major cause of viral encephalitis in our study. More such studies are required to assess the role of emerging viruses causing viral encephalitis in different regions.