PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Le Doare, K AU - Menson, Esse AU - Patel, Deepak AU - Lim, Ming AU - Lyall, Hermione AU - Herberg, Jethro TI - Fifteen minute consultation: Managing neonatal and childhood herpes encephalitis AID - 10.1136/archdischild-2014-306321 DP - 2015 Apr 01 TA - Archives of disease in childhood - Education & practice edition PG - 58--63 VI - 100 IP - 2 4099 - http://ep.bmj.com/content/100/2/58.short 4100 - http://ep.bmj.com/content/100/2/58.full SO - Arch Dis Child Educ Pract Ed2015 Apr 01; 100 AB - Herpes simplex encephalitis (HSE) is the most common single cause of viral encephalitis in infants and children. Treated or untreated, it can be associated with considerable morbidity and mortality, and its presentation is usually insidious and non-specific. Prompt and careful investigation is important in order to establish the diagnosis so that treatment can be optimised. We address some common questions arising when diagnosing and treating presumed HSE throughout childhood.