High mortality rates and long-term complications in children with infectious brainstem encephalitis: A study of sixteen cases.

<h4>Objective</h4>Brainstem encephalitis (BE) can cause sudden death in children. Fewer studies have been conducted on the incidence, clinical manifestations, pathogens and post-infectious sequelae of pediatric infectious BE.<h4>Methods</h4>Pediatric patients diagnosed with B...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Yuanyuan Zhou, Yi Zhu, Lingfeng Cao, Yingyan Shi, Jun Shen
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2025-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0318818
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1823864095505383424
author Yuanyuan Zhou
Yi Zhu
Lingfeng Cao
Yingyan Shi
Jun Shen
author_facet Yuanyuan Zhou
Yi Zhu
Lingfeng Cao
Yingyan Shi
Jun Shen
author_sort Yuanyuan Zhou
collection DOAJ
description <h4>Objective</h4>Brainstem encephalitis (BE) can cause sudden death in children. Fewer studies have been conducted on the incidence, clinical manifestations, pathogens and post-infectious sequelae of pediatric infectious BE.<h4>Methods</h4>Pediatric patients diagnosed with BE in our Medical Center from 01 January 2015 to 31 July 2024 were retrospectively reviewed. The clinical data of these children were obtained from the hospital's medical database on 15 August 2024. The number of outpatient and inpatient patients at our Medical Center during that period were provided by the hospital data center. Data analysis was conducted using Excel 2019.<h4>Results</h4>A total of twenty-eight cases were diagnosed with BE in our National Children's Medical Center over the past decade. Among them, 57.1% (16/28) cases were diagnosed with infectious BE. The incidence of infectious BE was estimated to be 16 cases per 30 million outpatient visits and 13 cases per 500,000 hospitalized patients. Fever, consciousness disorders and seizures were observed in 75.0% (12/16), 68.8% (11/16) and 62.5% (10/16) of the cases, respectively. Among them, 31.3% (5/16) cases were diagnosed as human enterovirus infections, 12.5% (2/16) cases were confirmed to be influenza B virus infections, while one case each was diagnosed with herpes simplex virus 1 and human herpesvirus 6 infection. The mortality rate during hospitalization was 12.5% (2/16). Among the surviving patients, 50.0% (7/14) of them had follow-up records, 85.7% (6/7) of the survivors suffered from sequelae such as motor disorders.<h4>Conclusion</h4>Fever, consciousness disorders and seizures were the major clinical manifestations in patients with infectious BE visited our Medical Center. These rare cases exhibited a notably high mortality rate and a significant frequency of long-term complications.
format Article
id doaj-art-842a775f9a704827a62889a55ffe103b
institution Kabale University
issn 1932-6203
language English
publishDate 2025-01-01
publisher Public Library of Science (PLoS)
record_format Article
series PLoS ONE
spelling doaj-art-842a775f9a704827a62889a55ffe103b2025-02-09T05:30:36ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032025-01-01202e031881810.1371/journal.pone.0318818High mortality rates and long-term complications in children with infectious brainstem encephalitis: A study of sixteen cases.Yuanyuan ZhouYi ZhuLingfeng CaoYingyan ShiJun Shen<h4>Objective</h4>Brainstem encephalitis (BE) can cause sudden death in children. Fewer studies have been conducted on the incidence, clinical manifestations, pathogens and post-infectious sequelae of pediatric infectious BE.<h4>Methods</h4>Pediatric patients diagnosed with BE in our Medical Center from 01 January 2015 to 31 July 2024 were retrospectively reviewed. The clinical data of these children were obtained from the hospital's medical database on 15 August 2024. The number of outpatient and inpatient patients at our Medical Center during that period were provided by the hospital data center. Data analysis was conducted using Excel 2019.<h4>Results</h4>A total of twenty-eight cases were diagnosed with BE in our National Children's Medical Center over the past decade. Among them, 57.1% (16/28) cases were diagnosed with infectious BE. The incidence of infectious BE was estimated to be 16 cases per 30 million outpatient visits and 13 cases per 500,000 hospitalized patients. Fever, consciousness disorders and seizures were observed in 75.0% (12/16), 68.8% (11/16) and 62.5% (10/16) of the cases, respectively. Among them, 31.3% (5/16) cases were diagnosed as human enterovirus infections, 12.5% (2/16) cases were confirmed to be influenza B virus infections, while one case each was diagnosed with herpes simplex virus 1 and human herpesvirus 6 infection. The mortality rate during hospitalization was 12.5% (2/16). Among the surviving patients, 50.0% (7/14) of them had follow-up records, 85.7% (6/7) of the survivors suffered from sequelae such as motor disorders.<h4>Conclusion</h4>Fever, consciousness disorders and seizures were the major clinical manifestations in patients with infectious BE visited our Medical Center. These rare cases exhibited a notably high mortality rate and a significant frequency of long-term complications.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0318818
spellingShingle Yuanyuan Zhou
Yi Zhu
Lingfeng Cao
Yingyan Shi
Jun Shen
High mortality rates and long-term complications in children with infectious brainstem encephalitis: A study of sixteen cases.
PLoS ONE
title High mortality rates and long-term complications in children with infectious brainstem encephalitis: A study of sixteen cases.
title_full High mortality rates and long-term complications in children with infectious brainstem encephalitis: A study of sixteen cases.
title_fullStr High mortality rates and long-term complications in children with infectious brainstem encephalitis: A study of sixteen cases.
title_full_unstemmed High mortality rates and long-term complications in children with infectious brainstem encephalitis: A study of sixteen cases.
title_short High mortality rates and long-term complications in children with infectious brainstem encephalitis: A study of sixteen cases.
title_sort high mortality rates and long term complications in children with infectious brainstem encephalitis a study of sixteen cases
url https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0318818
work_keys_str_mv AT yuanyuanzhou highmortalityratesandlongtermcomplicationsinchildrenwithinfectiousbrainstemencephalitisastudyofsixteencases
AT yizhu highmortalityratesandlongtermcomplicationsinchildrenwithinfectiousbrainstemencephalitisastudyofsixteencases
AT lingfengcao highmortalityratesandlongtermcomplicationsinchildrenwithinfectiousbrainstemencephalitisastudyofsixteencases
AT yingyanshi highmortalityratesandlongtermcomplicationsinchildrenwithinfectiousbrainstemencephalitisastudyofsixteencases
AT junshen highmortalityratesandlongtermcomplicationsinchildrenwithinfectiousbrainstemencephalitisastudyofsixteencases