Krawczuk et al.
Comparison of tick-borne encephalitis between children and adults – analysis of 669 patients
J. Neurovirol. 2020, doi 10.1007/s13365-020-00856-x

In Poland, the number of reported TBE cases fluctuates yearly between 200 and 300. Most cases are detected in the Podlaskie province (46%), and the incidence in Poland is around 0.5 to 0.6 per 100,000 inhabitants.

A retrospective analysis has been carried out of 669 patients hospitalized with TBE from 2004 to 2015 – group 1: 68 children, group 2: 601 adults.

The authors found that the incubation time was significantly longer in children compared to adults (22.3 vs. 14.87 days). In general, children had a milder course of disease and the most common form was meningitis (97%), while in adults meningoencephalitis (40.9%) and meningo-encephalomyelitis (8.3%) were observed more often.

Only 36.7% of children and 32.9% of adults presented the biphasic course of disease. No fatal case was reported among children, while 7 of 601 adult patients died. In this study, some adults as well as children received dexamethasone. This treatment correlated positively with pleocytosis in the checkup CSF in children, but there was no significant difference in sequelae development between children treated and not treated with dexamethasone. In this article, it was mentioned that 14.8% of children and 19.6% of adult patients had coinfections with Borrelia burgdorferi.

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