Enhanced diagnostic and management strategies for encephalitis
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Enhanced diagnostic and management strategies to improve the identification and outcome of individuals with encephalitis
IRAS ID
142419
Contact name
David Brown
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Public Health England
Research summary
We have recently completed a DH-funded Prospective Aetiological Study of Encephalitis which has important implications for clinical and laboratory practice (Granerod LID 2010):
1. Rigorously implemented and standardised first-line investigations significantly reduced the proportion of cases of unknown cause, which directly affects patient management. This supports the need for consistent implementation of standardised diagnostic algorithms.
2. A significant proportion of encephalitis was found to be immune-mediated; cases of antibody-associated encephalitis were shown to have the worst outcome of all aetiological groups. The importance of early recognition of these cases needs to be highlighted as treatment is available and effective, and delayed treatment leads to worse outcomes.
We will build on existing clinical/laboratory networks to collect further clinical samples to develop/refine the encephalitis diagnosis and treatment algorithms.
We will build on the sample archive to provide material for current/future investigations into the causes of encephalitis and for risk assessment of emerging infection.
REC name
London - Brent Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
13/LO/1747
Date of REC Opinion
11 Dec 2013
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion