Hippokratia 2012; 16(3):283-285
E. Pavlou, A. Gkampeta, K. Kouskouras, A. Evangeliou, F. Athanasiadou- Piperopoulou
Abstract
Idiopathic acute transverse myelitis is a focal inflammatory disorder of the spinal cord of unknown etiology diagnosed according to established criteria. As it occurs rarely in children herein we report a case of a 4 year old boy who developed clinical and radiological manifestations of myelitis, 10 days after a recent respiratory tract infection. Diagnostic workup failed to reveal a causative factor. After the administration of corticosteroids a clinical deterioration was observed and intravenous immunoglobulin was administered. Symptoms resolved within a 48-hour period, suggesting an immunemediated pathogenetic mechanism.