Hepatitis A and meningoencephalitis.

EXTRAHEPATIC complications of confirmed hepatitis A infection are uncommon and, with the exception of hepatic encephalopathy, have not included CNS involvement. 1-3 Cases of encephalitis presumed to be due to hepatitis A were previously reported before laboratory confirmation of hepatitis A etiology was available. 4,5 The following is a report of a case of serologically confirmed hepatitis A associated with CNS inflammation. Report of a Case A previously healthy, 56-year-old businessman was hospitalized in December 1979 with jaundice and decreased mental acuity of several days' duration. Ten days before admission, he experienced fever, sore throat, and cough, with subsequent development of anorexia, mental dullness, confusion, dark urine, and jaundice. Five weeks earlier he had traveled to Europe on a business trip where he had eaten raw seafood. The patient denied excess alcohol intake, toxin exposure, or receipt of blood products. On examination, he was afebrile, icteric, slightly obtunded, and disoriented.