Demonstration of acute post-viral myelitis with magnetic resonance imaging

Abstract

Post-infectious transverse myelitis is an important clinical entity in childhood, but the diagnosis is difficult to confirm by conventional radiologic investigations. We report a patient with acute, cervical, post-infectious transverse myelitis whose diagnosis had been established by the distribution and evolution of lesions on serial magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Autopsy results confirmed the diagnosis of post-infectious transverse myelitis and the presence of MRI-identified lesions. To our knowledge, this patient is the first child reported with MRI findings in post-infectious transverse myelitis and suggests that MRI may be valuable in the diagnosis and management of children with this syndrome.