20.500.12556/DiRROS-24495 Presentation, management, and outcome of tick-borne encephalitis in patients referred to infectious diseases or neurology Background: In Slovenia, patients with suspected tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) were historically referred to infectious diseases (ID), but during the COVID-19 pandemic, there were increased referrals to neurology. This study compared the clinical management of TBE patients between ID specialists and neurologists and assessed patients’ outcomes. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the clinical, laboratory, and imaging data of 318 adult patients with TBE managed by ID (n = 256; 80.5%) and neurology (n = 62; 19.5%) at a tertiary centre in Slovenia between March 2020 and September 2022 to explore variations in diagnostic and therapeutic approaches by specialty and to assess the severity and outcome of acute illness. Results: Patients referred to ID or neurology did not differ regarding their basic demographic and epidemiologic characteristics or basic laboratory parameters. However, patients referred to neurology more often presented with severe illness, including impaired consciousness and/or focal neurological signs (72.6% vs. 55.5%; p < 0.001). ID specialists used head imaging before lumbar puncture (6.6% vs. 64.5%; p < 0.001), performed microbiological tests other than for TBE (16.0% vs. 51.6%; p < 0.001), and empirically prescribed antimicrobials less often than neurology (5.1% vs. 22.6%; p < 0.001). When adjusting for age, sex, comorbidities, vaccination status, and the severity of acute illness, clinical outcomes were similar between the two groups of patients, but those with more severe acute illness had higher odds for incomplete recovery. Conclusions: Differences in clinical presentation between ID and neurology referrals could only partially explain the narrower diagnostic and therapeutic approach used by ID, which, given the study design, was not associated with adverse outcomes. Additionally, in patients with clinical characteristics suggestive of TBE in endemic areas, tremor in the absence of other focal neurological signs or impaired consciousness may not necessitate head imaging before lumbar puncture. Future prospective studies could help to optimise the management of this clinical syndrome. tick-borne encephalitis clinical management neuroimaging outcomes lumbar puncture true false true Angleški jezik Ni določen Neznano 2025-12-02 13:52:29 2025-12-02 13:52:30 2025-12-03 03:42:20 0000-00-00 00:00:00 2025 0 0 Nasl. z nasl. zaslona; Opis vira z dne 1. 4. 2025; str. 1-12 iss. 1, ǂ[article no.] ǂ45 Vol. 14 2025 0000-00-00 Zaloznikova Objavljeno apc 0000-00-00 0000-00-00 0000-00-00 616.9 2077-0383 10.3390/jcm14010045 231079939 RAZ_Gulin_Jana_2025.pdf RAZ_Gulin_Jana_2025.pdf 1 EA5326A86385244AC5789AB541AB99A3 855e348477652997d5918f3923bcdaf6574a6ce529a64d0407e7de7c0a07bb4a 2fc22202-cf7e-11f0-94a7-001a4af901a5 https://dirros.openscience.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=36505 https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0383/14/1/45 0 c5586964-cf7d-11f0-94a7-001a4af901a5 https://dirros.openscience.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=36504 Univerzitetni klinični center Ljubljana 0 0 0