Steroids and childhood encephalitis.

G (GS) have both antiinflammatory and immunosuppressive property, which explains why pediatricians tend to prescribe them for all pediatric clinical conditions in which it is thought or known that inflammation and/or autoimmunity are the main cause of disease signs and symptoms. However, such prescriptions are sometimes questionable because the efficacy of GS has not been demonstrated by controlled trials, and the risk of adverse events following high-dose or prolonged administration has not been adequately evaluated. Encephalitis is one of the syndromes for which GS are frequently used. However, the importance of this treatment remains unclear because a diagnosis of encephalitis covers a range of clinical conditions whose etiology, pathogenesis, clinical picture and spontaneous evolution vary. Furthermore, it has been tested in very few studies involving children. The aim of this article is to review what is currently known about the real impact of GS treatment in children with acute infectious encephalitis (AIE) and acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM), the 2 major types of encephalitis.