Neurologic complications of erythema-migrans-disease in childhood--clinical aspects.

Erythema-migrans-disease represents a tick-borne borreliosis with a high and widespread incidence according to first epidemiological surveys. The early symptom is a distinctive erythema migrans eventually followed by arthritis and cardiac involvement as well as neurologic complications in the form of lymphocytic meningoradiculitis Garin-Bujadoux-Bannwarth. In a one-year-period we observed 9 children who developed neurologic complications as the predominant feature of erythema-migrans-disease. Eight children suffered from a lymphocytic meningitis and/or a peripheral facial palsy and one child presented with a severe polyradiculoneuritis with complete transverse myelitis. In contrast to adults the clinical course of neurologic manifestations in children seems to be milder and shorter and not associated with the typical painful radiculitis. Acute Bell's palsy seems to be a rather common symptom, whereas other peripheral pareses of the mononeuritis multiplex type were not observed. With respect to the assumed frequency and because of the possibility of antibiotic therapy, erythema-migrans-disease should be ruled out in any case of so-called idiopathic facial palsy or aseptic meningitis, which are frequently encountered in children.