Parainfluenza type 3, typically a respiratory virus, can cause central nervous system infections such as meningitis in immunocompetent children.
Expands pediatric meningitis differential to include parainfluenza type 3; hypothesis-generating for incidence and testing studies.
The authors present two immunocompetent children with parainfluenza type 3 meningitis. In each case, the outcome was favorable without detectable complications. The authors reviewed the literature, showing that central nervous system (CNS) involvement by parainfluenza viruses has rarely been described but may present with a variety of neurologic syndromes. Pediatricians and laboratory personnel should recognize that these viruses, commonly known to produce respiratory syndromes, can also be a cause of CNS infections. If additional studies confirm these observations, clinicians and virology laboratories may consider whether early hemadsorption testing to detect myxoviruses is warranted.
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Arguedas et al. (1990) studied this question.
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