The Turkish Journal of Pediatrics
2013 , Vol 55 , Num 3
Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis: An Evaluation of 15 Cases in Childhood
Division of Pediatric Neurology, Department of Pediatrics, Çukurova University Faculty of Medicine, Adana, Turkey.
E-mail: fincecik@yahoo.com
To describe our experience with acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM)
and the relationships between the clinical course, magnetic resonance imaging
(MRI) findings and treatment, a retrospective record review was conducted
of 15 children who were admitted with the diagnosis of ADEM during the
period 2004–2010. Their ages ranged between 2 and 13 years. Patients
presented most often with ataxia (53.3%) and secondly with weakness and
headache (46.6%). Myelitis was determined in two patients. Five patients
were treated with high-dose intravenous (IV) methylprednisolone followed
by oral prednisolone, seven patients were treated with oral prednisolone, one
patient was treated with plasmapheresis with IV immunoglobulin (Ig), and one
patient was treated with IVIg. We observed recurrence in one patient. ADEM
is a demyelinating disorder that is being diagnosed increasingly more as MRI
studies are performed more frequently in patients with acute encephalopathy.
Early diagnosis and therapy might improve the outcome.
Keywords :
acute disseminated encephalomyelitis, magnetic resonance imaging, clinical,
children.