The clinical course of a five-year-old boy who developed meningeal irritation, encephalomyelitis,
and optic neuritis four weeks after Streptococcus pyogenes pharyngitis is detailed.
The patient responded to therapy with corticosteroids and recovered fully. Review
of the literature reveals that a wide range of neurological disorders have been described
in association with rheumatic fever. We suggest that disseminated encephalomyelitis
in this child most probably was related to the streptococcal infection and that the
spectrum of post-infectious neurological disorders associated with Streptococcus pyogenes
may be broader than is currently appreciated.
Streptococcus pyogenes - Encephalomyelitis - Rheumatic fever
