Cerebellitis and concomitant acute hydrocephalus in a child: Case report

Acute cerebellitis is a severe neurological disease characterized by mild or high-grade fever, nystagmus, tremor, truncal ataxia, dysarthria, headache, and altered mental state. The diagnose can be established on the basis of clinical symptoms, radiological imaging and laboratory findings. Acute life threatening hydrocephalus can be seen as a complication of acute cerebellitis associated with obstruction at the level of the fourth ventricle. Neurosurgical procedures as a life-saving intervention can be required which range from external ventricular drainage to ventricular peritoneal shunt and posterior fossa decompression. In this report we present a case of cerebellitis and concomitant acute hydrocephalus in a child which was treated succesfully with external ventricular drainage and medical treatment and also discuss the main features of this rare but important concomitance.