Tick paralysis in three children. The diversity of neurologic presentations.
Reviewed are 3 cases of tick paralysis in children each with a different presentation. One child presented with an ascending flaccid weakness, another with weakness and cerebellar signs, and a third with pure cerebellar signs. Ixodes scapularis, the black-legged deer tick, was the offending tick in Case 3 and apparently has not been previously reported to cause paralysis in humans. Because of the potential for a fatal outcome, it is imperative to consider tick paralysis in any child with an ascending flaccid weakness or acute ataxia.
D001259:Ataxia / Q000209:etiology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009135:Muscular Diseases / Q000209:etiology; D012075:Remission, Spontaneous; D013985:Tick Paralysis / Q000175:diagnosis; D013986:Tick Toxicoses / Q000175:diagnosis