Kauvery Hospital, a tertiary and multi-specialty hospital in Chennai, successfully treated a complex and rare case of autoimmune encephalitis which is an inflammatory condition of the brain, in a 14-year-old girl. The patient was discharged from the hospital after 21 days of treatment by a team of doctors across specialties during the lockdown.
The 14-year-old girl, was brought to the hospital with complaints of one episode of seizure at home followed by another in the hospital. She was evaluated for brain infection as she was having seizures not controlled with common anti-epileptic medications but all the results including spinal fluid testing were negative for any infection.
After several specialised tests and examination by medical experts of various specialties, it was observed that there was no infections or tumour inside the brain that was causing the seizures and the patient was suspected to have autoimmune encephalitis – a condition where epileptic seizures are caused by one's own immune system causing inflammation in the brain.
In this patient’s case, the auto-antibodies were negative on two occasions and so it was concluded that this was autoimmune encephalitis with negative antibodies and super refractory seizures which is a very rare and complex condition.
As she was so unwell, she was put on higher medical sedation to suppress her seizures with ventilatory support. She was treated intensively with immune-suppression drugs including steroids, Immunoglobulins and monoclonal antibodies. She was even commenced on special keto diet to help control seizures by the dietician, the hospital said.
After two weeks of treatment, the patient gradually showed signs of improvement. Then she was immediately started on various therapies including physiotherapy and speech therapy to help her get back to normal life.
Dr. Bhuvaneshwari Rajendran, Lead Consultant and Neurologist, said, “The medical case was very challenging for the team of doctors as the patient required multi-specialty intervention and constant monitoring. Additionally, the patient was very young and was showing extreme complications with super refractory seizures and cognitive issues. Owing to the lockdown, it was difficult to co-ordinate various testing and scans. However, through the efforts of all the doctors and other medical personnel, we were able to administer the right course of treatment through Immunoglobin therapy and medications, which brought a positive turnaround in the patient’s health condition.”
The patient was treated by a team of doctors and medical personnel consisting of neurologist, intensivists, rheumatologist, nurses, speech therapist, physiotherapists, dietician.
Commenting on the success of the case, Dr. Aravindan Selvaraj, Executive Director, Kauvery Hospital said, “We are happy to have been able to provide a multi-disciplinary approach to her treatment to facilitate the best possible care for a positive outcome. It gives us immense pleasure to see the patient and her family go back home with a sense of contentment. I would like to congratulate the team of doctors at Kauvery Hospital, who gave in their best and provided uncompromised care during the pandemic and lockdown to successfully treat a case of high complexity.”