Use of Plasma Therapy for Severe Fever with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome Encephalopathy

Se Yoon Park,Sun-Whan Park,Won-Ja Lee,Yong Pil Chong,Seog-Woon Kwon,Eun Byeol Wang,Youngmee Jee,Wooyoung Choi,Sung-Han Kim

doi:10.3201/eid2207.151791

Abstract

Use of Plasma Therapy for Severe Fever with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome Encephalopathy

Highlights

We report a case of severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS)-associated encephalopathy, without pleocytosis and with normal cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) protein and glucose levels, that was confirmed by real-time reverse transcription PCR of the CSF
We obtained ≈400 mL of convalescent plasma (IFA assay for SFTSV IgG 1:256 at the time of donation) from the donor and transfused it into the patient on hospital day (HD) 17
The viral load in the blood decreased steeply by a factor of 10 (6 × 102 to 6 × 101 copies/mL) during the first 7 hours (4–11 pm on HD 17); it gradually decreased from 3 × 101 at 7 am on HD 18 to 6 × 100 copies/ mL on HD 20, by which time the patient’s mental status had fully recovered (Figure). This case is unique in that SFTS was detected in CSF in the absence of pleocytosis and with normal CSF protein and glucose levels, as in previous reports on influenzaassociated acute encephalopathy [3]

Summary

Introduction

Use of Plasma Therapy for Severe Fever with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome Encephalopathy Se Yoon Park,1 WooYoung Choi,1 Yong Pil Chong, Sun-Whan Park, Eun Byeol Wang, Won-Ja Lee, Youngmee Jee, Seog-Woon Kwon, Sung-Han Kim Kim); Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Cheongju, South Korea

Results

Conclusion