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Dong-Eog Kim, MD; Seung-Hoon Lee, MD; Kyung-Il Park, MD; Kee-Hyun Chang, MD; Jae-Kyu Roh, MD

Arch Neurol. 2000;57:1770-1772.

Background  Encephalomyelitis with prominent focal neurologic signs and associated neuroradiologic abnormalities has not been previously described in scrub typhus.

Case Description  A 22-year-old woman was admitted because of fever and an altered mental state. Neurologic examination revealed bilateral sixth and seventh nerve palsies, bilateral gaze evoked nystagmus, anarthria, dysphagia, quadriparesis, and sensory level at T1. Serum and cerebrospinal fluid samples were positive for tsutsugamushi antibody. The patient's magnetic resonance images demonstrated the lesions responsible for the neurologic dysfunctions: in the lower brainstem, cerebellar peduncles, and spinal cord. It was interesting that the gray matter of the spinal cord was predominantly involved.

Conclusions  The recognition of unusual manifestations and the clinical suspicion of this treatment-responsive disease may be important, particularly in the face of increasing international and intranational travel.

From the Departments of Neurology (Drs Kim, Lee, Park, and Roh) and Radiology (Dr Chang), Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea.

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