Increasing nurses' awareness of acute encephalitis

Acute encephalitis is a neurologic disorder that can lead to rapid deterioration and critical illness, and can have long-term neurologic and neuropsychiatric complications. This article aims to increase nurses' awareness of the epidemiology, signs and symptoms, practice guidelines, and nursing management of patients with acute encephalitis. In addition to describing disease presentation and progression, this article also offers insight into the long-term effects of encephalitis and the resources available to survivors.