Clinical Reasoning: A 17-Year-Old Adolescent Boy With New Altered Mental Status in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit.

Abstract

We present the case of a 17-year-old adolescent boy admitted to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit with an extensive necrotizing soft tissue infection who subsequently developed altered mental status and autonomic instability. Altered mental status is a common occurrence in critically ill children with a broad differential of etiologies. After ruling out organic causes of encephalopathy, management is typically focused on avoiding deliriogenic agents, including benzodiazepines. Dopamine antagonist medications may also be administered adjunctively to manage agitation or delirium that is refractory to other measures. We review the workup and differential diagnosis for altered mentation in critically ill children and discuss the current understanding of a rare etiology of altered mental status in the pediatric population.