An adult case of enterovirus D68 encephalomyelitis presenting as bilateral facial nerve palsy and dysphagia

Abstract

A 33-year-old man was admitted to our hospital with bilateral facial nerve paralysis, dysphagia, and muscle weakness in the neck and trunk following fever, headache and throat pain. T2-weighted brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed hyperintense lesions in the tegmentum of the brain stem and the ventral region of the superior cervical cord. Based on the characteristic findings on the brain MRI, we diagnosed the patient with enteroviral encephalomyelitis. Steroid therapy was administered; however, his bilateral facial nerve paralysis and dysphagia were refractory to this therapy. Subsequently, enterovirus D68 was detected in the serum using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis. At that time, an outbreak of enteroviral D68 infection was reported in Japan. Finally, we diagnosed encephalomyelitis caused by enteroviral D68 infection. Characteristic MRI findings were very useful in narrowing down the differential diagnosis in this patient.