Comparison of acute disseminated encephalomyelitis and infectious encephalitis
| Acute disseminated encephalomyelitis | Infectious encephalitis | |
|---|---|---|
| Reproduced, in part, from Davis,7 with permission. | ||
| Clinical features | ||
| Most common age | Children | Any age |
| Recent vaccination | Common | Uncommon |
| Prodromal illness | Usually | Occasionally |
| Fever | May occur | Common |
| Visual loss (one or both eyes) | May occur | Uncommon |
| Spinal cord signs | May occur | Rare |
| Laboratory findings | ||
| Blood | Leucocytosis occasionally occurs | Leucocytosis common |
| MRI (T2 weighted) | Multiple focal areas of hypertensity that are the same and may involve white matter of both hemispheres, basal ganglia, brainstem, cerebellum, and spinal cord | One or more diffuse areas of hypertensity involves the grey matter of both cerebral cortices and its underlying white matter and, to a lesser extent, basal ganglia, brainstem, and cerebellum |
| CSF | Lymphocytic pleocytosis, elevated protein, normal glucose, and negative cultures. Red blood cells seen in acute haemorrhagic leucoencephalitis. | Lymphocytic pleocytosis, elevated protein, normal glucose, and negative cultures. Red blood cells may be seen in herpes simplex encephalitis. |