Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic Purpura due to Varicella-Zoster Virus Meningoencephalitis in an Immunocompetent Patient

Zachary Mostel; Ben Anthony Nguyen; Louis Costanzo; Sarah Bankhead; Parinaz Ayat; Harsha Taluru; Anoop Puskoor; Zahra Ahmed; Edwin Chiu; Adam El Sehamy; David Nathaniel Smith

doi:10.4103/jgid.jgid_241_22

Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic Purpura due to Varicella-Zoster Virus Meningoencephalitis in an Immunocompetent Patient

J Glob Infect Dis. 2023 Jul 12;15(4):172-174. doi: 10.4103/jgid.jgid_241_22. eCollection 2023 Oct-Dec.

Affiliations

¹ Department of Medicine, NYC Health and Hospitals/Kings County Hospital Center, Brooklyn, NY, USA.
² Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology and Oncology, NYC Health and Hospitals/Kings County Hospital Center, Brooklyn, NY, USA.
³ Department of Medicine, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, NYC Health and Hospitals/Kings County Hospital Center, Brooklyn, NY, USA.

Abstract

Varicella-zoster virus (VZV) can cause variable disease states in individuals with intact and compromised immune systems. Both meningoencephalitis and thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) are uncommon, life-threatening entities associated with VZV. There are few reported cases of TTP due to VZV and this may be the first case of TTP due to VZV meningoencephalitis confirmed through lumbar puncture. The literature tends to emphasize that this pathology mostly occurs in immunocompromised hosts. Here, we present a unique case of TTP due to VZV meningoencephalitis in a patient that was immunocompetent.

Keywords: Meningoencephalitis; thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura; varicella zoster virus.

Publication types

Case Reports