Acute flaccid myelitis

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Syed Hassan A. Kazmi BSc, MD [2]

Historical Perspective

• In 2014, physicians in California and Colorado (USA) noted an increase in the number of patients presenting with the acute onset of flaccid paralysis and MRI findings consistent with lesions in the gray matter of the spinal cord.
• In 2014, a total of 120 cases were identified in the US and 22 were identified in 2015
• In 2016, 145 cases of AFM were diagnosed across the USA.

Diagnosis

Diagnostic Criteria

Diagnosis	Criteria
Confirmed	Acute onset of flaccid limb weakness AND An MRI showing a spinal cord lesion largely restricted to gray matter and spanning one or more spinal segments
Probable	Acute onset of flaccid limb weakness AND Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) with pleocytosis (white blood cell count 9 5 cells/mm3