Outbreak of Enterovirus Infection with Neurological Presentations in a Pediatric Population in Northern Spain: A Clinical Observational Study.

OBJECTIVE: The study aimed to describe the cases of neurological disease related to the outbreak of enterovirus (EV) in three regions in Northern Spain during 2016. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Multicenter retrospective observational study. Clinical, radiological, and microbiological data were analyzed from patients younger than 15 years with confirmed EV-associated neurological disease admitted to 10 hospitals of Asturias, Cantabria, and Castile and Leon between January 1 and December 31, 2016. RESULTS: Fifty-five patients were included. Median age was 24 months (interquartile range = 18.5 months). Fifteen patients were classified as aseptic meningitis (27.3%). In total, 37 cases presented brainstem encephalitis (67.3%), 25 of them due to EV-A71 with excellent prognosis (84.6% asymptomatic 2 months following the onset). Three cases of acute flaccid myelitis (5.5%) by EV-D68 were reported and presented persistent paresis 2 months following the onset. Microbiological diagnosis by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction was performed in all cases, finding EV in cerebrospinal fluid in meningitis, but not in brainstem encephalitis and acute flaccid myelitis, where EV was found in respiratory or rectal samples. Step therapy was administrated with intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG; 32.7%), methylprednisolone (10%), and plasmapheresis (3.6%). Four patients received fluoxetine (7.3%). Twenty patients needed to be admitted to pediatric intensive care unit (36.4%). CONCLUSION: Clinical, microbiological, and radiological diagnosis is essential in outbreaks of EV neurological disease, taking into account that it can be difficult to identify EV-A71 and EV-D68 in CSF, requiring throat or rectal samples. There is not specific treatment to these conditions and the efficacy and understanding of the mechanism of action of immune-modulatory treatment (IVIG, corticosteroids, and plasmapheresis) is limited.

[Para-infectious seizures: A retrospective multicentre study]. / Crisis parainfecciosas: estudio retrospectivo multicéntrico.

INTRODUCTION: Para-infectious seizures are afebrile seizures that are associated with mild infections, and occur in children with no pre-existing neurological illness. They are still little known in our environment. METHODS: A multicentre retrospective study was conducted that included patients with normal psychomotor development and had presented with one or more seizures in the context of a mild afebrile infection. RESULTS: A total of 38 patients (47% male, 53% female) were included in the study over a period of three years (2012-2015). The mean age was 2.1 years. A previous history of febrile seizures was found in 7.9% of them. Mean number of seizures per patient was 2.2, with 57.9% of them being tonic-clonic seizures. The mean duration of seizures was 3.2minutes. An EEG was performed during admission in 73.7% of cases. Lumbar punctures were performed in 34.2% of cases. All were normal. Neuroimaging tests were carried out in 36.9% of cases. Brain MRI was the imaging test performed in most cases (21.1%), with no any pathological findings. The most frequent infection found was acute gastroenteritis (68%), followed by upper respiratory tract infection (32%). Almost two-thirds (63.2%) of patients did not require anticonvulsant medication. Rectal diazepam was the most frequently used drug in emergencies. Intravenous medication was required by 28.9% of patients due to repeated seizures. The most frequently used drug in the non-emergency setting was valproic acid. Anticonvulsant treatment was continued after discharge in 16% of patients. Para-infectious seizures was the diagnosis in 76.3% of cases when discharged. CONCLUSIONS: Knowledge of para-infectious seizures, their clinical diagnosis and benign course is crucial, as this would avoid further testing and unnecessary treatments.