Sudden muscle weakness in the lower limbs!
Acute Transverse Myelitis is an extremely rare condition reported in 1 in a million people. This health condition is characterised by acute inflammation of gray and white matter in one or more adjacent spinal cord segments, usually thoracic. If not diagnosed or treated on time, it can lead to other complicated health conditions such as multiple sclerosis, infection in the spine, autoimmune diseases amongst others.
A team of doctors led by Dr. Kunal Bahrani, Director, Neurology, Fortis Escorts Hospital, Faridabad, successfully treated a 36-year-old man who was suffering from this rare disease. Let's get to know more about this disease from the doctors.
The patient who was admitted at Fortis Escorts Hospital had reported of rapid progressive weakness in both lower limbs for last 3 days. Within a span of one day, his condition deteriorated to the extent, that he was not able to stand or sit without support. A day prior to admission, the patient had acute urinary retention (inability to pass urine) and with the progression in the disease by the time of admission at the hospital he was completely bed ridden, the doctors said.
Initial investigations based on clinical symptoms and rapid progression confirmed this to be a case of Acute Transverse Myelitis and the patient was immediately admitted to ICU.
Various radiological investigations such as MRI Brain and MRI of the whole spine were conducted to confirm the severity of the disease. MRI diagnosis revealed swelling in various parts of the spinal cord along with patches of swelling in the brain.
As the patient's condition was deteriorating with every passing day, the doctors suggested that the only advisable line of treatment for immediate medical intervention was plasma exchange. Seven cycles of plasma exchange were done followed by IVIg (Intravenous immunoglobulin) in order to destroy the autoantibodies which led to the devastating disease.
Talking about the case, Dr. Bahrani said, "The patient was a gymnast and used to lead an active lifestyle. I haven't come across any such case, where a person leading an active lifestyle gets bed-ridden in such a short span of time. The patient suddenly started experiencing muscle weakness in his limbs and was bed-bound within a span of 3 days. Any delay in diagnosis and treatment would have resulted in long-term disability with weakness in both lower limbs. The case was extremely challenging because it was a rare case of acute neurological problem with rapid progression which could have led the patient to be bed ridden for his entire life."
Dr. Ajay Dogra, Facility Director, Fortis Escorts Hospital Faridabad added, "It was a very challenging case considering the critical condition of the patient and the rarity of the disease."
