Acute demyelinating encephalomyelitis in a child with pulmonary tuberculosis

Paediatr Int Child Health. 2024 Apr 3:1-3. doi: 10.1080/20469047.2024.2335422. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTTuberculosis is a leading cause of mortality in children worldwide. One of the greatest challenges in its management is the difficulty of diagnosis as the manifestations are non-specific and often mimic other illnesses. Neurological infection occurs in approximately 1% of patients diagnosed with tuberculosis, and usually takes the form of tuberculous meningitis or tuberculoma. An 11-year-old girl who was diagnosed with acute disseminated encephalomyelitis, a rare immunological manifestation of tuberculosis, is presented. She recovered completely after a course of high-dose systemic corticosteroids in addition to anti-tuberculosis treatment. Considering the immense burden of this infectious disease, recognition and understanding of the uncommon manifestations are important to enable appropriate and timely treatment.Abbreviations: ADEM: acute disseminated encephalomyelitis; ATT: anti-tuberculosis therapy; CBNAAT: cartridge-based nucleic acid amplification test; CNS: central nervous system; CSF: cerebrospinal fluid; CT: computed tomography; FLAIR: fluid attenuated inversion recovery; IFN: interferon; MRI: magnetic resonance imaging; MTB: Mycobacterium tuberculosis; TB: tuberculosis; TNF: tumour necrosis factor.PMID:38571368 | DOI:10.1080/20469047.2024.2335422
Source: Paediatrics and international child health - Category: Pediatrics Authors: Source Type: research