Posters
Academic Level (Author 1)
Medical Student
Discipline Track
Patient Care
Abstract
Encephalitis is the inflammation of the brain which can come about through various etiologies. Autoimmune encephalitis is a rare form that is most common among women and children. The clinical presentation can vary between patients with a constellation of symptoms including deficits in memory, cognition, seizures, abnormal movement, psychosis, and coma. Because of the variation in clinical presentation and the lack of specificity in imaging and laboratory findings, diagnosis and intervention are often delayed for months to years. These delays in diagnosis can have long term ramifications on patients especially pediatric patients whose neural pathways are still developing. In pediatric patients, diagnosis can be difficult with nonspecific clinical presentations and changes in personality which can be falsely attributed to growing up or behavioral issues. This case report presents a pediatric patient that had been previously seen in the hospital and diagnosed with acute musculoskeletal pain secondary to functional neurologic disorder. However, her case was later determined to be autoimmune encephalitis of unknown etiology.
Presentation Type
Poster
Recommended Citation
Cook, Elizabeth and Ricoy, Giselle, "Autoimmune Encephalitis of Unknown Etiology" (2023). Research Colloquium. 15.
https://scholarworks.utrgv.edu/colloquium/2022/posters/15
Included in
Autoimmune Encephalitis of Unknown Etiology
Encephalitis is the inflammation of the brain which can come about through various etiologies. Autoimmune encephalitis is a rare form that is most common among women and children. The clinical presentation can vary between patients with a constellation of symptoms including deficits in memory, cognition, seizures, abnormal movement, psychosis, and coma. Because of the variation in clinical presentation and the lack of specificity in imaging and laboratory findings, diagnosis and intervention are often delayed for months to years. These delays in diagnosis can have long term ramifications on patients especially pediatric patients whose neural pathways are still developing. In pediatric patients, diagnosis can be difficult with nonspecific clinical presentations and changes in personality which can be falsely attributed to growing up or behavioral issues. This case report presents a pediatric patient that had been previously seen in the hospital and diagnosed with acute musculoskeletal pain secondary to functional neurologic disorder. However, her case was later determined to be autoimmune encephalitis of unknown etiology.