Haemodialysis patients are at greater risk of infections than individuals not on dialysis due to their immunosuppressive state caused by several factors (uraemia, vascular access, inflammation, malnutrition). However, infections affecting the central nervous system are not frequent in this population. We present the case of a 77-year-old man with end-stage renal disease who was admitted to the emergency department for a decreased level of consciousness and fever. Although the initial clinical suspicion oriented to a urinary infection, the lack of improvement forced us to perform a lumbar puncture. Five days after cerebrospinal fluid was cultured, cytomegalovirus was isolated and ganciclovir initiated.
Keywords: Cytomegalovirus; Encephalitis; Hemodialysis.