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Review
Investigating ataxia in childhood
  1. Emily Petley1,
  2. Manish Prasad2,
  3. Shalini Ojha1,3,
  4. William P Whitehouse1,2
  1. 1Academic Division of Child Health, School of Medicine, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK
  2. 2Nottingham Children’s Hospital, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, Nottingham, UK
  3. 3Derbyshire Children's Hospital, Derby Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Derby, UK
  1. Correspondence to Dr William P Whitehouse, Academic Division of Child Health, School of Medicine, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2UH, UK; william.whitehouse{at}nottingham.ac.uk

Abstract

Ataxia is a common presentation to an acute paediatric unit and it can often be difficult to determine the cause. It is important to distinguish between serious causes, for example, brain tumours and encephalitis, and more benign causes in order to guide investigations and treatment. In this review, we describe the different types of ataxia, the causes associated with them, the examination findings and what investigations to perform in order to make a diagnosis.

  • neurology
  • general paediatrics
  • accident and emergency

https://doi.org/10.1136/archdischild-2018-315893

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    Footnotes

    • Twitter @shaliniojha7

    • Contributors EP wrote the main manuscript. WPW, MP and SO reviewed and amended the manuscript. The final manuscript was approved by EP, MP, SO and WPW.

    • Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

    • Competing interests None declared.

    • Patient consent for publication Not required.

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.

    • Data availability statement There are no data in this work.