Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2018 Spring;12(2):7-16.

Acute Transverse Myelitis in Children, Literature Review

Azita Tavasoli  1 , Aidin Tabrizi  2
Affiliations
Review

Acute Transverse Myelitis in Children, Literature Review

Azita Tavasoli et al. Iran J Child Neurol. 2018 Spring.

Abstract

Objective: Acute transverse myelitis (ATM) is a rare inflammatory demyelinating disorder characterized by relatively acute onset of motor, sensory, and autonomic dysfunction. Children comprise 20% of total cases of ATM. In this review, we described the current literature on childhood ATM, focusing on the epidemiology, pathogenesis, clinical presentation, approach to diagnosis, differential diagnosis, treatment and outcome in the pediatric population.

Materials &methods: We searched the related articles in electronic databases such as Scopus, EMBASE, Google Scholar, and PubMed. All study designs were included and the essential key words for searching were myelitis, acute transverse myelitis, childhood transverse myelitis, and acquired demyelinating syndromes.

Results: The related data focusing on the epidemiology, pathogenesis, clinical presentation, diagnostic approach and differential diagnosis, treatment and outcome of pediatric ATM were gathered and described.

Conclusion: ATM is a heterogeneous disorder in children with a broad spectrum of clinical presentation, etiology, and outcome. It may be the first presentation of relapsing acquired demyelinating syndromes and also must be distinguished from compressive and noninflamatory myelopathies. Correct diagnosis is crucial for treatment and prognosis.

Keywords: Acquired demyelinating syndromes; Acute transverse myelitis; Childhood transverse myelitis; Myelitis.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.

References

    1. Absoud M, Greenberg BM, Lim M, Lotze T, Thomas T, Deiva K. Pediatric transverse myelitis. Neurology. 2016;87(9 Supplement 2):S46–52. - PubMed
    1. Deiva K, Absoud M, Hemingway C, Hernandez Y, Hussson B, Maurey H, et al. Acute idiopathic transverse myelitis in children Early predictors of relapse and disability. Neurology. 2015;84(4):341–9. - PubMed
    1. Suthar R, Sankhyan N, Sahu JK, Khandelwal NK, Singhi S, Singhi P. Acute transverse myelitis in childhood: A single centre experience from North India. Eur J Paediatr Neurol. 2016;20(3):352–60. - PubMed
    1. Absoud M, Lim MJ, Chong WK, De Goede CG, Foster K, Gunny R, et al. Paediatric acquired demyelinating syndromes: incidence, clinical and magnetic resonance imaging features. Mult Scler J. 2013;19(1):76–86. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Alper G, Petropoulou KA, Fitz CR, Kim Y. Idiopathic acute transverse myelitis in children: an analysis and discussion of MRI findings. Mult Scler J. 2011;17(1):74–80. - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources