Infectious diseases and impaired consciousness.

Any of a number of neuroinfectious diseases can cause a disorder of consciousness. The priority in the care of the patient is to identify an infectious disease that is treatable. This article examines disorders of consciousness that may be caused by a septic encephalopathy, bacterial meningoencephalitis, viral encephalitis, tick-borne bacterial disease, fungal meningitis, tuberculous meningitis, a focal infectious mass lesion, such as a brain abscess, or an autoimmune-mediated disorder as a complication of infection.