Acute disseminating encephalomyelitis following legionnaires disease
Objective: To describe 2 patients presenting with severe neurological deficits and extensive lesions on brain magnetic resonance imaging after having experienced Legionella pneumonia. Design: Case reports. Setting: University hospital. Patients: Two patients who developed severe neurological symptoms, including encephalopathic signs, following Legionella infection, with widespread lesions on magnetic resonance imaging compatible with demyelination. Results: After extensive ancillary investigations, a diagnosis of acute disseminating encephalomyelitis was considered most likely. Steroid therapy was initiated in 1 of the patients, followed by plasmapheresis. In both patients, clinical and radiological signs gradually recovered, with only slight residual deficits. Conclusion: In patients presenting with neurological symptoms after an episode of pneumonia, Legionella infection and a subsequent immune-mediated process such as acute disseminating encephalomyelitis should be considered.
|Persistent URL||dx.doi.org/10.1001/archneurol.2010.75, hdl.handle.net/1765/32733|
|Journal||Archives of Neurology|
de Lau, L, Siepman, D.A.M, Remmers, M.J.M, Terwindt, G.M, & Hintzen, R.Q. (2010). Acute disseminating encephalomyelitis following legionnaires disease. Archives of Neurology, 67(5), 623–626. doi:10.1001/archneurol.2010.75