What are the symptoms of encephalitis in a 9-year-old child?

Brain diseases are relatively serious for humans, especially diseases like cerebral palsy, which will cause the brain to lose some of its functions, leading to disordered body functions and making life a mess. In clinical practice, brain diseases are also relatively common, including encephalitis and so on. So, if a nine-year-old child suffers from encephalitis, what are the clinical symptoms?

The symptoms of encephalitis vary depending on the cause, distribution and severity of the lesions. Generally, there are fever, headache, and neurological manifestations such as impaired consciousness, delirium, limb paralysis, stiff neck, involuntary movements, convulsions, etc.

Clinical manifestations

1. Systemic toxic blood symptoms

Fever, headache, body aches, nausea, vomiting, fatigue. A few patients have hemorrhagic rash and myocarditis symptoms.

2. Neurological symptoms

Impaired consciousness, meningeal irritation signs. Flaccid paralysis of the cervical and scapular muscles may occur, causing the head to droop and the arms to be unable to be raised, resulting in the person tottering and helpless. Involvement of cranial nerves and lower limbs is rare. Paralysis can be recovered in 2 to 3 weeks, and about half of the muscles will atrophy. Mild cases may have no obvious neurological symptoms.

Because the location and severity of the lesions vary, the manifestations are varied. Diffuse encephalitis often starts with general discomfort, followed by coma and convulsions, accompanied by fever; brainstem encephalitis often has symptoms such as facial nerve paralysis, choking, dysphagia, limb numbness, weakness and (or) oculomotor nerve paralysis, pseudobulbar palsy, etc. Pseudotumor encephalitis often presents with headache, vomiting, poor limb movement or paralysis, aphasia, mental symptoms, and intracranial hypertension. At the same time, pay attention to the symptoms of the primary disease, such as mumps virus encephalitis accompanied by parotid gland swelling; herpes virus encephalitis with herpes on the skin, coxsackievirus and echovirus encephalitis may have rash, myocarditis, hand, foot and mouth disease, etc. If the lesion involves the meninges (meningoencephalitis), positive meningeal irritation signs will appear.

treat

There is no specific treatment for viral encephalitis. It is particularly important to control intracranial hypertension, hyperthermia and seizures. The airway of a comatose patient must be kept open. Careful care can prevent secondary infection.

1. Symptomatic treatment

(1) Glucocorticoids hydrocortisone or dexamethasone, added to 5% glucose solution and dripped intravenously. Start with a higher dose and gradually reduce it. The course of treatment should not exceed 1 month.

(2) Dehydration and diuresis: 20% mannitol intravenous drip. The course of treatment depends on the condition.

(3) Physical cooling is the main method of cooling. You can use 30% alcohol baths and place ice packs on the groin, armpits, and neck. You can also use a cooling bed or cold mattress.

(4) Antipsychotic drugs for psychomotor excitement can be given, such as chlorpromazine, fluphenazine or telden, and the dosage should be individualized.

(5) Reducing intracranial pressure

2. Antiviral treatment

(1) Acyclovir, iodine, cytarabine, adenosine, etc.

(2) Amantadine and cyclohexylamine.

(3) Interferon is injected intramuscularly. The course of treatment depends on the condition and should be used in the early stage.

(4) Immunoglobulin G and placental globulin.