title: Hydrogen peroxide neurotoxicity in childhood: case report with unique magnetic resonance imaging features.
abstract: Concentrated hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) intoxication is relatively rare in children. Serious irreversible neurotoxicity generally results. The case of an 11-year-old boy who inadvertently drank a concentrated (35%) H2O2 solution is described. He exhibited signs of an acute encephalopathy with cortical visual impairment. Extensive cerebrocortical diffusion restriction with apparent gyral edema was evident at 3 days following ingestion, particularly in the parieto-occipital regions bilaterally. Spontaneous neurologic improvement quickly followed, and nearly full clinical resolution was evident 1 month later. The pattern of imaging abnormalities closely resembles that of reversible posterior leukoencephalopathy. Concentrated H2O2 neurotoxicity in children can exhibit unique patterns (a reversible posterior leukoencephalopathy) and a better than expected outcome.
authors.affiliation: Department of Graduate Medical Education, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, USA.
authors.forename: George
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Cannon
authors.forename: E Martin
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Caravati
authors.forename: Francis M
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Filloux
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D006801:Humans; D006861:Hydrogen Peroxide / Q000009:adverse effects*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D020258:Neurotoxicity Syndromes / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology*; D016877:Oxidants / Q000009:adverse effects*; D014786:Vision Disorders / Q000139:chemically induced
chemical_list: D016877:Oxidants; D006861:Hydrogen Peroxide