Varicella zoster encephalitis mimicking stroke.

Physicians need to consider a broad differential diagnosis when evaluating a patient presenting with a suspected stroke. The rates of overdiagnosis of stroke in studies of consecutive patients vary from 19% to 31%. The two most common stroke mimics are hypoglycemia and seizure, but several etiologies have been reported.We reported the case of a 41-year-old patient presenting to the emergency department with aphasia and right-side hemiparesis, initially suspected to have stroke and finally diagnosed of varicella-zoster encephalitis.