Two cases of central nervous system complications caused by Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection

= Abstract = Mycoplasma pneumoniae (M. pneumoniae infection causes aw ide variety of clinical manifestations in children and young adults the main one being pneumonia. M. pneumoniae is transmitted from person to person by infected respiratory droplets. Symptoms caused by M. pneumoniae infection can be divided into those involving the respiratory tract and those caused by extrapulmonary disease. M. pneumoniae infections may cause central nervous system (CNS complications- with ence- phalitis being the most frequent- and stroke being a rare complication. The pathogenesis of the CNS disease is unclear; possibilities include direct infection and an immune-mediated reaction. We present two cases of CNS complications sub- sequent to infection with M. pneumoniae; both cases had convincing evidence of preceding M. pneumoniae respiratory disease with no evidence of viable M. pneumoniae in the cerebrospinal fluid. We report cases of encephalitis and stroke following a recent M. pneumoniae infection. (Korean J Pediatr 2008;51:533-537