Brainstem and striatal encephalitis complicating Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia: possible benefit of intravenous immunoglobulin.
Encephalitides of the brainstem and the striatum associated with Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection are believed to be mediated by an autoimmune process triggered by the organism, a toxin or direct invasion by the organism itself. Inability to identify M. pneumoniae from cerebrospinal fluid by culture or polymerase chain reaction suggested a possible immunologic process. A trial of intravenous immunoglobulin in a critically ill patient with encephalitis that developed in parallel to M. pneumoniae pneumonia was associated with neurologic improvement within 48 h of treatment.
Sakoulas
G
G
Division of Infectious Diseases, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA 02215, USA. gsakoula@caregroup.harvard.edu
D001933:Brain Stem / Q000473:pathology*; D002648:Child; D003342:Corpus Striatum / Q000473:pathology*; D004660:Encephalitis / Q000150:complications*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016756:Immunoglobulins, Intravenous / Q000187:drug effects*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D011019:Pneumonia, Mycoplasma / Q000150:complications* / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology
D016756:Immunoglobulins, Intravenous