Clinical Presentation, Treatment and Prognosis in Children with Reye-like Syndrome

We performed a retrospective study to explore the mortality rates and prognosis of the Reye like syndrome in patients treated at Konya Research and Education Hospital. Twenty two children with ages between 5 months and 7 years old were included in this study. All patients were treated with intensive supportive methods to manage body fluid, blood circulation, respiration, body temperature, and intracranial pressure. The main presenting features were history of fever (72.7%), profuse vomiting (63.6%), abnormal behavior and agitation (77.2%), and sudden onset of unconsciousness (100%). The etiologies of patients included viral illness, gastroenteritis, metabolic disorders, intoxication and hypoxia due to foreign body aspiration. No neurological deficit was seen in the children who survived the disease. In our patients the mortality rate was 31.8%. In conclusion, Reye like syndrome occurs only rarely but should be a part of the differential diagnosis of any encephalopathy of unknown origin and above all if there is a history of ingestion of drugs, previous viral infection and vomiting. Our treatment protocol is safe and effective in children with Reye like syndrome