1. Acute disseminated encephalomyelitis due to Rickettsia conorii infection.
- Author
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Woolf D, Jordaan M, and Maartens G
- Subjects
- Adrenal Cortex Hormones administration & dosage, Adrenal Cortex Hormones therapeutic use, Anti-Bacterial Agents administration & dosage, Anti-Bacterial Agents therapeutic use, Boutonneuse Fever diagnostic imaging, Brain diagnostic imaging, Brain microbiology, Doxycycline administration & dosage, Doxycycline therapeutic use, Drug Administration Schedule, Drug Therapy, Combination, Encephalomyelitis, Acute Disseminated diagnostic imaging, Encephalomyelitis, Acute Disseminated etiology, Humans, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Middle Aged, Neuroimaging, Boutonneuse Fever complications, Encephalomyelitis, Acute Disseminated microbiology, Rickettsia conorii
- Abstract
Acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM) is an immune-mediated acute inflammatory demyelinating disorder, which typically occurs after viral infections or immunisation. We present a case of a man with acute Rickettsia conorii infection whose diagnosis was delayed. He presented with fever, headache, an eschar and an acute paraplegia. The R. conorii IgM serum titre was 1:128. Magnetic resonance imaging showed multifocal lesions in the brain and spinal cord consistent with inflammatory demyelination. The patient responded well to doxycycline and a short course of high-dose corticosteroids. To our knowledge this is the first case of ADEM associated with Mediterranean spotted fever - we found a previous report of ADEM in a child with Rocky Mountain spotted fever, whose diagnosis of rickettsial infection was also delayed. We hypothesise that delayed diagnosis of spotted fever group rickettsial infections could rarely result in ADEM.
- Published
- 2021
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