Therapeutic outcome of hypothermia therapy in children with influenza virus-associated encephalopathy

Acute Encephalopathy With Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 Virus Infection

“…Our study also showed that patients with influenza encephalopathy caused by novel influenza A (H1N1) pdm infection were all older than the average age (3 y 11 months) of patients with seasonal influenza in our previous study. 3 Acute necrotizing encephalopathy is a clinicopathological entity first described by Mizuguchi et al 29 in 1995. It is a subtype of influenza encephalopathy and is a well-recognized and potentially fatal complication characterized by multiple symmetrical brain lesions involving both thalami, the brainstem tegmentum, and the cerebral white matter.…”

“…2 We have already reported that mild hypothermic therapy facilitates excellent recovery in children with acute encephalopathy, and we have used it to treat influenza encephalopathy since 1993. 3 In the spring of 2009, a novel influenza A (H1N1) pdm virus was identified in Mexico, the United States, and Canada 4 and spread quickly around the world. The first patient in Japan was identified in May 2009.…”