[Diarrhea, coli infection, septic encephalopathy: escalation of a seemingly banal symptom]

Septic encephalopathy is an early manifestation of sepsis. Changes in consciousness, focal or generalized seizures, multifocal myoclonus and/or varying hemiparesis are common clinical findings. All of these symptoms are reversible when sepsis has been successfully treated. Because there are no generally accepted criteria for the diagnosis of septic encephalopathy, it is a diagnosis of exclusion. We report the case of a 68-year-old patient who developed septic encephalopathy secondary to diarrhea and E. coli sepsis. In this case, symptoms of septic encephalopathy were fully reversed after the patient's E. coli sepsis had been adequately treated.