Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis with Seizures and Myocarditis: A Fatal Triad

Autor: Hanne Lademann, Astrid Bertsche, Axel Petzold, Fred Zack, Andreas Büttner, Jan Däbritz, Christina Hauenstein, Erik Bahn, Christian Spang, Daniel Reuter, Philipp Warnke, Johannes Ehler
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2020
Předmět:
Zdroj: Medicina, Vol 56, Iss 6, p 277 (2020)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 1648-9144
1010-660X
DOI: 10.3390/medicina56060277
Popis: Autoimmune pathology of acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM) is generally restricted to the brain. Our objective is to expand the phenotype of ADEM. A four-year-old girl was admitted to the pediatric emergency room of a university medical center five days after a common upper respiratory tract infection. Acute symptoms were fever, leg pain, and headaches. She developed meningeal signs, and her level of consciousness dropped rapidly. Epileptic seizure activity started, and she became comatose, requiring intubation and mechanical ventilation. Serial brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) illustrated the fulminant development of ADEM. Treatment escalation with high-dose corticosteroids, immunoglobulins, and plasma exchange did not lead to clinical improvement. On day ten, the patient developed treatment-refractory cardiogenic shock and passed away. The postmortem assessment confirmed ADEM and revealed acute lymphocytic myocarditis, likely explaining the acute cardiac failure. Human metapneumovirus and picornavirus were detected in the tracheal secrete by PCR. Data sources–medical chart of the patient. This case is consistent with evidence from experimental findings of an association of ADEM with myocarditis as a postinfectious systemic autoimmune response, with life-threatening involvement of the brain and heart.
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