Neuropsychological sequelae of adolescent infectious diseases.

Abstract

This article discusses the neuropsychological sequelae of adolescent infectious diseases. Primary care physicians are encouraged to extend their clinical activities beyond the primary medical care aspects of the infectious disease process to encompass a comprehensive, multidisciplinary, continuum of health care approach. Patient, disease, and socioecologic parameters are the foundation of this approach. This article is designed to help primary care physicians appreciate the complexity of neuropsychological infectious disease issues in the adolescent. Human immunodeficiency virus 1 (HIV-1) is emphasized because the legion of related sequelae demands a comprehensive health care approach and serves as a model for discussing other principal infectious diseases such as encephalitis (particularly Lyme disease) and bacterial meningitis.