Frontiers in Neurology (Apr 2020)

Severe Acute Flaccid Myelitis Associated With Enterovirus in Children: Two Phenotypes for Two Evolution Profiles?

  • Melodie Aubart,
  • Melodie Aubart,
  • Cyril Gitiaux,
  • Cyril Gitiaux,
  • Charles Joris Roux,
  • Raphael Levy,
  • Isabelle Schuffenecker,
  • Audrey Mirand,
  • Nathalie Bach,
  • Florence Moulin,
  • Jean Bergounioux,
  • Marianne Leruez-Ville,
  • Flore Rozenberg,
  • Delphine Sterlin,
  • Lucile Musset,
  • Denise Antona,
  • Nathalie Boddaert,
  • Nathalie Boddaert,
  • Shen Ying Zhang,
  • Manoelle Kossorotoff,
  • Isabelle Desguerre

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fneur.2020.00343
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 11

Abstract

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Acute flaccid myelitis (AFM) is an acute paralysis syndrome defined by a specific inflammation of the anterior horn cells of the spinal cord. From 2014, worrying waves of life-threatening AFM consecutive to enterovirus infection (EV-D68 and EV-A71) have been reported. We describe 10 children displaying an AFM with an EV infection, the treatments performed and the 1 to 3-years follow-up. Two groups of patients were distinguished: 6 children (“polio-like group”) had severe motor disability whereas 4 other children (“brainstem group”) displayed severe brainstem weakness requiring ventilation support. Electrodiagnostic studies (n = 8) support the presence of a motor neuronopathy associated to myelitis. The best prognosis factor seems to be the motor recovery after the first 4 weeks of the disease.

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