Ataxia cerebeloasă acută postinfecțioasă la copil: prezentare de caz | [Acute post-infectious cerebellar ataxia in children: case report]

Abstract

The difficulty of walking and fine movements disturbance with acute onset in a previously healthy child (usually between the ages of 2 and 5 years), which appears within a short period of time (48-72 hours), is identified as acute ataxia. Acute post-infectious cerebellar ataxia (APICA) is the most common form of acute ataxia found in children. There is no specific diagnostic test for APICA. Usually, APICA is diagnosed by a process of elimination, and exclusion of more serious types of ataxia (head injury, drugs, toxins, carbon monoxide inhalation) that sometimes, may need complex investigations. The description of the child’s history and of the recent events leading up to the ataxia will help in making the diagnosis, where the acute onset of symptoms in a recent infection context will play an important role. We present a case of a two years old boy with acute onset of ataxia that appeared after a history of a recent acute upper respiratory infection, in whom there was a progressive regression of symptoms that needed no specific treatment or aggressive investigations.