Central pontine myelinolysis differential diagnosis

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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Mohamadmostafa Jahansouz M.D.[2]

Overview

On the basis central pontine myelinolysis must be differentiated diseases that cause acute confusion, lethargy, speech difficulties and bilateral weakness or quadriplegia such as: Posterior leukoencephalopathy syndrome, infective encephalitis, ischemic Brain stem infarction, thalamus infarction due thrombosis of the basilar artery, diffuse hypoxic encephalopathy, metastasis to the brain and brain tumors such as glioma.

Differentiating central pontine myelinolysis from other Diseases

On the basis central pontine myelinolysis must be differentiated diseases that cause acute confusion, lethargy, speech difficulties and bilateral weakness or quadriplegia such as:

• Posterior leukoencephalopathy syndrome
• Hypertensive encephalopathy
• Infective encephalitis
• Ischemic Brain stem infarction
• Thalamus infarction due thrombosis of the basilar artery
• Diffuse hypoxic encephalopathy
• Metastasis to the brain
• Brain tumors such as glioma

Differentiating [disease name] from other diseases on the basis of [symptom 1], [symptom 2], and [symptom 3]

On the basis [symptom 1], [symptom 2], and [symptom 3], [disease name] must be differentiated from [disease 1], [disease 2], [disease 3], [disease 4], [disease 5], and [disease 6].

Diseases	Clinical manifestations						Para-clinical findings							Gold standard	Additional findings
	Symptoms			Physical examination
							Lab Findings			Imaging			Histopathology
	Symptom 1	Symptom 2	Symptom 3	Physical exam 1	Physical exam 2	Physical exam 3	Lab 1	Lab 2	Lab 3	Imaging 1	Imaging 2	Imaging 3
Differential Diagnosis 1
Differential Diagnosis 2
Differential Diagnosis 3
Diseases	Symptom 1	Symptom 2	Symptom 3	Physical exam 1	Physical exam 2	Physical exam 3	Lab 1	Lab 2	Lab 3	Imaging 1	Imaging 2	Imaging 3	Histopathology	Gold standard	Additional findings
Differential Diagnosis 4
Differential Diagnosis 5
Differential Diagnosis 6

Differential diagnosis

Stroke should be differentiated from other causes of muscle weakness and paralysis. The differentials include the following:

Diseases	History and Physical								Diagnostic tests		Other Findings
	Motor Deficit	Sensory deficit	Cranial nerve Involvement	Autonomic dysfunction	Proximal/Distal/Generalized	Ascending/Descending/Systemic	Unilateral (UL) or Bilateral (BL) or No Lateralization (NL)	Onset	Lab or Imaging Findings	Specific test
Acute Flaccid Myelitis	+	+	+	-	Proximal > Distal	Ascending	UL/BL	Sudden	MRI (Longitudinal hyperintense lesions)	MRI and CSF PCR for viral etiology	Drooping eyelids Difficulty swallowing Respiratory failure
Adult Botulism	+	-	+	+	Generalized	Descending	BL	Sudden	Toxin test	Blood, Wound, or Stool culture	Diplopia, Hyporeflexia, Hypotonia, possible respiratory paralysis
Infant Botulism	+	-	+	+	Generalized	Descending	BL	Sudden	Toxin test	Blood, Wound, or Stool culture	Flaccid paralysis (Floppy baby syndrome), possible respiratory paralysis
Guillian-Barre syndrome	+	-	-	-	Generalized	Ascending	BL	Insidious	CSF: ↑Protein ↓Cells	Clinical & Lumbar Puncture	Progressive ascending paralysis following infection, possible respiratory paralysis
Eaton Lambert syndrome	+	-	+	+	Generalized	Systemic	BL	Intermittent	EMG, repetitive nerve stimulation test (RNS)	Voltage gated calcium channel (VGCC) antibody	Diplopia, ptosis, improves with movement (as the day progresses)
Myasthenia gravis	+	-	+	+	Generalized	Systemic	BL	Intermittent	EMG, Edrophonium test	Ach receptor antibody	Diplopia, ptosis, worsening with movement (as the day progresses)
Electrolyte disturbance	+	+	-	-	Generalized	Systemic	BL	Insidious	Electrolyte panel	↓Ca++, ↓Mg++, ↓K+	Possible arrhythmia
Organophosphate toxicity	+	+	-	+	Generalized	Ascending	BL	Sudden	Clinical diagnosis: physical exam & history	Clinical suspicion confirmed with RBC AchE activity	History of exposure to insecticide or living in farming environment. with : Diarrhea, Urination, Miosis, Bradycardia, Lacrimation, Emesis, Salivation, Sweating
Tick paralysis (Dermacentor tick)	+	-	-	-	Generalized	Ascending	BL	Insidious	Clinical diagnosis: physical exam & history	-	History of outdoor activity in Northeastern United States. The tick is often still latched to the patient at presentation (often in head and neck area)
Tetrodotoxin poisoning	+	-	+	+	Generalized	Systemic	BL	Sudden	Clinical diagnosis: physical exam & dietary history	-	History of consumption of puffer fish species.
Stroke	+/-	+/-	+/-	+/-	Generalized	Systemic	UL	Sudden	MRI +ve for ischemia or hemorrhage	MRI	Sudden unilateral motor and sensory deficit in a patient with a history of atherosclerotic risk factors (diabetes, hypertension, smoking) or atrial fibrillation.
Poliomyelitis	+	+	+	+/-	Proximal > Distal	Systemic	BL or UL	Sudden		PCR of CSF	Asymmetric paralysis following a flu-like syndrome.
Transverse myelitis	+	+	+	+	Proximal > Distal	Systemic	BL or UL	Sudden	MRI & Lumbar puncture	MRI	History of chronic viral or autoimmune disease (e.g. HIV)
Neurosyphilis	+	+	-	+/-	Generalized	Systemic	BL	Insidious	MRI & Lumbar puncture	CSF VDRL-specifc CSF FTA-Ab -sensitive	History of unprotected sex or multiple sexual partners. History of genital ulcer (chancre), diffuse maculopapular rash.
Muscular dystrophy	+	-	-	-	Proximal > Distal	Systemic	BL	Insidious	Genetic testing	Muscle biopsy	Progressive proximal lower limb weakness with calf pseudohypertrophy in early childhood. Gower sign positive.
Multiple sclerosis exacerbation	+	+	+	+	Generalized	Systemic	NL	Sudden	↑CSF IgG levels (monoclonal)	Clinical assessment and MRI	Blurry vision, urinary incontinence, fatigue
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis	+	-	-	-	Generalized	Systemic	BL	Insidious	Normal LP (to rule out DDx)	MRI & LP	Patient initially presents with upper motor neuron deficit (spasticity) followed by lower motor neuron deficit (flaccidity).
Inflammatory myopathy	+	-	-	-	Proximal > Distal	Systemic	UL or BL	Insidious	Elevated CK & Aldolase	Muscle biopsy	Progressive proximal muscle weakness in 3rd to 5th decade of life. With or without skin manifestations.