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Acute Ataxia in Childhood: 11-Year Experience at a Major Pediatric Neurology Referral Center

Kavita Thakkar1, Stephen M Maricich2, Gulay Alper3

  • 1Department of Pediatrics, Division of Child Neurology, Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC, Pittsburgh, PA, USA thakkarkp@upmc.edu.

Journal of Child Neurology
|April 14, 2016
PubMed

Insights

Post-infectious cerebellar ataxia is the most common cause of acute pediatric ataxia, often following viral illness. Most children recover fully within 30 days, indicating a favorable prognosis for this condition.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Neurology
  • Neuroscience

Background:

  • Acute ataxia in children presents a diagnostic challenge.
  • Identifying the etiology is crucial for appropriate management and prognosis.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To categorize the causes of acute ataxia in pediatric patients.
  • To analyze the clinical features and outcomes of different ataxia etiologies.

Main Methods:

  • Retrospective review of 120 pediatric neurology referrals over 11 years.
  • Categorization of ataxia causes including post-infectious cerebellar ataxia, drug intoxication, and others.
  • Analysis of patient demographics, clinical history, CSF findings, and MRI results.

Main Results:

  • Post-infectious cerebellar ataxia was the most frequent diagnosis (59%), typically in children aged 1-6 years with preceding viral illness.
  • Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) pleocytosis occurred in 40%, while brain MRIs were normal.
  • The majority of patients (91%) with post-infectious cerebellar ataxia achieved recovery within 30 days.

Conclusions:

  • Post-infectious cerebellar ataxia is the leading cause of acute ataxia in childhood with a generally good prognosis.
  • Differentiating post-infectious cerebellar ataxia from other acute ataxia presentations is clinically important.
  • Early identification and supportive care are key for favorable outcomes in pediatric acute ataxia.

Keywords:
acute ataxiaacute cerebellitiscase studies/case seriescerebellar ataxiapostinfectious cerebellar ataxia

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