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Infection Triggered Encephalopathies in Australian Children: A National Multicentre Case Series 2013-2024

Infection Triggered Encephalopathy Syndrome (ITES) is a rare but potentially severe complication of infections in children. ITES is a syndrome of acute encephalopathy that occurs in the context of a febrile illness and hypothesised to result from a cytokine mediated infection-triggered cytotoxicity in the central nervous system (CNS) without parenchymal inflammatory cell infiltration. ITES is considered distinct from infectious and immune-mediated encephalitis. We aimed to describe the demographics, associated pathogens, clinical spectrum and outcomes of ITES in Australian children from May 2013 until June 2024.

Citation:
Chang JI, Dale RC, Mohammed S, ….. Blyth CC, Carr JP, et al.  Infection Triggered Encephalopathies in Australian Children: A National Multicentre Case Series 2013-2024. J Pediatr. 2026;10.1016/j.jpeds.2026.115291:115291.

Keywords:
Infection Triggered Encephalopathy Syndrome; childhood infections; encephalopathy; cytotoxicity; demographics

Abstract:
Infection Triggered Encephalopathy Syndrome (ITES) is a rare but potentially severe complication of infections in children. ITES is a syndrome of acute encephalopathy that occurs in the context of a febrile illness and hypothesised to result from a cytokine mediated infection-triggered cytotoxicity in the central nervous system (CNS) without parenchymal inflammatory cell infiltration. ITES is considered distinct from infectious and immune-mediated encephalitis. We aimed to describe the demographics, associated pathogens, clinical spectrum and outcomes of ITES in Australian children from May 2013 until June 2024.