Autoimmune encephalitis in a tertiary hospital in the Philippines.

Background: Autoimmune encephalitis (AE) is an emerging disorder in adults and children. Due to its potentially reversible nature, prompt recognition and intervention are of utmost importance.
Objective: To describe the clinical and paraclinical features, as well as treatment outcomes of patients with AE admitted in a Philippine tertiary hospital.
Methods: Retrospective case series of patients with definite AE.
Results: Eighteen (18) patients were included (12 adults, 6 children), majority of whom had anti-N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) encephalitis. The median age of onset was 32 (IQR: 10.8) years old and 13 (IQR: 4.8) years old in the adult and pediatric population, respectively. In both age groups, most presented with psychiatric symptoms and normal imaging findings. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) pleocytosis was detected in 8/12 (66.7%) adults and 2/6 (33.3%) children, while CSF protein elevation was only seen in 6/12 (50%) adults. Most patients presented with seizures, and the most frequent electroencephalography (EEG) abnormality detected was slow activity (70.5%). A high proportion of patients received high dose steroids, alone (35.3%) or in combination with intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG, 52.9%). Overall, 66.7% had improved outcomes, mostly seen in the pediatric population.
Conclusion: This study highlighted the broad clinical phenotype, as well as the similarities and differences of AE manifestations in adults and children. It demonstrated the limited but supportive role of laboratory investigations in the diagnosis of AE. It also underscored the importance of early intervention in AE and highlighted factors influencing treatment practices and discharge outcomes in the local setting.
Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
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