FilmArray in Cerebrospinal Fluid: The Challenge of False Negatives in Pediatric Herpetic Encephalitis

In herpetic encephalitis, diagnosis relies on the correlation of clinical features, neuroimaging, and CSF molecular testing.Clinical manifestations include high fever, headache, seizures, altered consciousness, focal neurological signs, and, particularly in adolescents, behavioral and psychiatric symptoms. 7,8Brain MRI with gadolinium is highly valuable, typically demonstrating hyperintense lesions on T2 and FLAIR, especially in temporal lobes,