Affiliations: Department of Neurology, Baylor College of Medicine,
Houston, TX, USA | Department of Pediatric Neurology, Texas Children's
Hospital, Houston, TX, USA
Note: [] Corresponding author: Dr. Siresha Chaluvadi, Department of
Neurology, Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor Plaza, NB 302, Houston, TX,
77030, USA. Tel.: +1 713 798 6151; Fax: +1 713 798 8530; E-mail:
sireshachaluvadi@hotmail.com
Abstract: The numbers of hospitalizations, multiorgan complications, and
deaths continued to rise during the H1N1 influenza pandemic. Although there are
several reports of H1N1 influenza associated neurologic complications in all
ages, there is no clear suggestion that the 2009 influenza A (H1N1) virus is
associated with a disproportionate amount of neurologic illness beyond that
observed with seasonal influenza. We describe the serious neurologic
complications of children hospitalized with H1N1 influenza in Houston, Texas
during the 2009 season. We retrospectively studied five hospitalized children
with neurological complications who were polymerase chain reaction positive for
the H1N1 virus. In these five children, two had stroke (ischemic and/or
hemorrhagic), two had seizures, and three had encephalopathic features.
Regarding the outcome, improvement in neurological function occurred in four
and one child died. These five children with neurologic complications
represented 21% of the children with H1N1 influenza admitted to the
pediatric intensive care unit.
