Successful Treatment of Influenza-Associated Acute Necrotizing Encephalitis in an Adult Using High-Dose Oseltamivir and Methylprednisolone: Case Report and Literature Review

Abstract

A case of influenza-associated acute necrotizing encephalitis (ANE) is described in an otherwise healthy adult. The patient was treated successfully with a combination of high-dose methylprednisolone and high-dose oseltamivir. The patient relapsed after discontinuing 150 mg twice daily oseltamivir but quickly improved and eventually recovered after reinitiation of high-dose oseltamivir for an additional 2 weeks. The clinical presentation, pathogenesis, and treatment of influenza-associated ANE is reviewed. The use of high-dose oseltamivir in combination with methylprednisolone may offer additional therapeutic benefit for this rare and poorly understood complication of influenza infection.