LAUSR

1Neurology Service, Department of Paediatric Medicine, KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital, Singapore, 2SingHealth Polyclinics, 3Care and Health Integration Division, Changi General Hospital, Singapore Correspondence: Dr Lim Yi Xiu Jocelyn, Associate Consultant, Neurology Service, Department of Paediatric Medicine, KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital, 100 Bukit Timah Road Singapore 229899. [email protected] WHAT IS ENCEPHALOPATHY? Encephalopathy is a clinical state characterised by an alteration of consciousness, behaviour and/or cognition. It can present with lethargy and drowsiness, or conversely with a heightened state of agitation and confusion. It arises from diffuse brain dysfunction that can result from myriad underlying conditions, ranging from primary neurologic to systemic disorders. While encephalopathy more commonly stems from a global brain insult, it can present with a range of focal neurological manifestations such as seizures, visual disturbances, speech abnormalities, motor weakness, and sensory and autonomic deficits. Encephalitis refers specifically to brain inflammation, usually associated with fever, with evidence of cerebrospinal inflammation (pleocytosis and raised protein levels) and/or neuroimaging findings of encephalitis.