CASE REPORT article
Front. Pediatr.
Sec. Pediatric Infectious Diseases
This article is part of the Research TopicNew Discoveries and Challenges in Pediatric Infectious Diseases: Epidemiological, Clinical, and Pathogenic AdvancesView all 14 articles
A Rare Pediatric Case of Hepatitis B Virus Infection with Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis/Guillain–Barré Syndrome Spectrum Diseases
Provisionally accepted
- 1The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, China
- 2Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, China
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A 12-year-old girl who was havingwith convulsions was ainccidentally found to be infected with the hepatitis B virus(HBV), with HBV-deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and HBsAg positivity in the cerebrospinal fluid. The patient hadexperienced frequent convulsions and consciousness disorders, and positive anti-GQ1b/anti-GD1b antibodies were detected in the cerebrospinal fluid. Acute disseminated encephalomyelitis(ADEM)/Guillain–Barré syndrome (GBS) spectrum disorders were observed on brain and spinal cord magnetic resonance imaging, indicating a high likelihood of HBV-related ADEM+/GBS spectrum disorders. After treatment with intravenous hormone, immunoglobulin, and antivirusantiviral therapy withusing entecavir, along withand antiepileptic therapymedication, the neurological damage completely resolved, the hepatitis B viral load decreased significantly, and liver function wasreturned to normal. ADEM+/GBS spectrum diseases are immune-mediated disordearses of the central nervous system that occur after viral infection. However, the potential relationship between hepatitis B virus infection and ADEM+/GBS spectrum diseases remains an area of ongoing investigation for clinicians.. In this case, the combination of hormones and intravenous immunoglobulin did not affect the anti-HBV effect of entecavir, and the patient fully recovered from the neurological damage within 3three months of disease onset. This case highlights hepatitis B-related neurological diseases and encourages further sharing of clinical experiences.
Keywords: ADEM+/GBS spectrum diseases, Convulsions, Hepatitis B virus, infectious diseases, neurological damage
Received: 02 Sep 2025; Accepted: 28 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Li, Hu, Shen and Mao. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Xiaoyan Mao
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