Failure of Intraventricular Gamma Globulin to Eradicate ECHOvirus Encephalitis in a Patient with X-Linked Agammaglobulinemia

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To the Editor: Persistent echovirus encephalitis, uniformly resistant to systemic and intrathecal immunotherapy, is a well-recognized complication in patients with agammaglobulinemia.1 , 2 In the February 7 issue of the Journal, intraventricular administration of concentrated gamma globulin was reported to eradicate echovirus from the cerebrospinal fluid in two patients with hypogammaglobulinemia.2 On the basis of this encouraging report, we initiated a similar course of therapy in an 11-year-old boy with agammaglobulinemia and echovirus type 11 encephalitis.In July 1984, the patient began experiencing malaise and progressive sensorineural hearing loss. In January 1985, frontal headaches, fever, and slurred speech developed. A CT scan . . .