Skip to main content

Advertising Disclaimer »

Main menu

  • Journals
    • Pediatrics
    • Hospital Pediatrics
    • Pediatrics in Review
    • NeoReviews
    • AAP Grand Rounds
    • AAP News
  • Authors
    • Submit Manuscript
    • Author Guidelines
  • Content
    • Current Issue
    • Complete Issue PDF
    • Archive
    • Topic/Program Collections
    • Blog
  • Multimedia
    • Teaching Slides
    • Pediatrics On Call Podcast
  • CME/MOC
    • CME Quizzes
    • MOC Claiming
  • Subscribe
  • Alerts
  • Careers
  • Other Publications
    • American Academy of Pediatrics

User menu

  • Log in
  • My Cart

Search

  • Advanced search
American Academy of Pediatrics

AAP Gateway

Advanced Search

AAP Logo

  • Log in
  • My Cart
  • Journals
    • Pediatrics
    • Hospital Pediatrics
    • Pediatrics in Review
    • NeoReviews
    • AAP Grand Rounds
    • AAP News
  • Authors
    • Submit Manuscript
    • Author Guidelines
  • Content
    • Current Issue
    • Complete Issue PDF
    • Archive
    • Topic/Program Collections
    • Blog
  • Multimedia
    • Teaching Slides
    • Pediatrics On Call Podcast
  • CME/MOC
    • CME Quizzes
    • MOC Claiming
  • Subscribe
  • Alerts
  • Careers
American Academy of Pediatrics
Index of Suspicion

Case 1: Vertigo and Episodes of Slurred Speech in a 5-year-old Girl

Ashwin Malhotra, Louis Manganas, Traci Downs, Sunny Chang and Latha Chandran
Pediatrics in Review April 2017, 38 (4) 182; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1542/pir.2015-0022
Ashwin Malhotra
Departments of *Neurology and
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Louis Manganas
Departments of *Neurology and
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Traci Downs
†Pediatrics, Stony Brook University School of Medicine, Stony Brook, NY
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Sunny Chang
†Pediatrics, Stony Brook University School of Medicine, Stony Brook, NY
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Latha Chandran
†Pediatrics, Stony Brook University School of Medicine, Stony Brook, NY
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • Article
  • Info & Metrics
  • Comments
Loading

This article requires a subscription to view the full text. If you have a subscription you may use the login form below to view the article. Access to this article can also be purchased.

Download PDF
  1. Ashwin Malhotra, MD*
  2. Louis Manganas, MD, PhD*
  3. Traci Downs, MD†
  4. Sunny Chang, MD†
  5. Latha Chandran, MD, MPH†
  1. Departments of *Neurology and
  2. †Pediatrics, Stony Brook University School of Medicine, Stony Brook, NY
  • AUTHOR DISCLOSURE

    Drs Malhotra, Manganas, Downs, Chang, and Chandran have disclosed no financial relationships relevant to this article. This commentary does not contain a discussion of an unapproved/investigative use of a commercial product/device.

Presentation

A 5-year-old girl presents with symptoms of vertigo and intermittent episodes of slurred speech for 1 day. This morning she had a “popping” headache localized bilaterally to the sides and the back of the head. Her headache spontaneously resolved within 20 minutes, although she later experienced “a spinning sensation” and her knees buckled, causing her to fall backward. There is no history of ataxia, visual changes, weakness, or fatigue before the fall. Similarly, there is no history of altered mental status or evidence of injury afterward.

Six months earlier, she had been diagnosed as having localization-related epilepsy. It was likely that her epilepsy was of genetic origin and considered benign because of normal brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings, electrographic abnormalities noted on video electroencephalography (EEG), and semiology that was noted during 3 witnessed episodes of tonic-clonic movements. Her epilepsy was initially well controlled with levetiracetam and oxcarbazepine therapy. In the preceding months, she would experience episodes of “spacing out” during which she would see colors in the air or smell things, “freeze up” (ie, have behavioral arrest), and then be unable to recall what happened.

Her birth, developmental, and immunization history is noncontributory. Her mother has a history of depression, anxiety, and migraines with aura. Evaluation in the emergency department reveals episodic dysarthria without aphasia. She is alert and oriented, with normal vital signs and …

Individual Login

Log in
You will be redirected to aap.org to login or to create your account.

Institutional Login

via Institution

You may be able to gain access using your login credentials for your institution. Contact your librarian or administrator if you do not have a username and password.

Log in through your institution

If your organization uses OpenAthens, you can log in using your OpenAthens username and password. To check if your institution is supported, please see this list. Contact your library for more details.

Purchase access

You may purchase access to this article. This will require you to create an account if you don't already have one.

Offer Reprints

PreviousNext
Back to top

Advertising Disclaimer »

In this issue

Pediatrics in Review: 38 (4)
Pediatrics in Review
Vol. 38, Issue 4
1 Apr 2017
  • Table of Contents
  • Table of Contents (PDF)
  • About the Cover
  • Index by author
  • Complete Issue (PDF)
View this article with LENS
PreviousNext
Email Article

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word on American Academy of Pediatrics.

NOTE: We only request your email address so that the person you are recommending the page to knows that you wanted them to see it, and that it is not junk mail. We do not capture any email address.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
Case 1: Vertigo and Episodes of Slurred Speech in a 5-year-old Girl
(Your Name) has sent you a message from American Academy of Pediatrics
(Your Name) thought you would like to see the American Academy of Pediatrics web site.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
Request Permissions
Article Alerts
Log in
You will be redirected to aap.org to login or to create your account.
Or Sign In to Email Alerts with your Email Address
Citation Tools
Case 1: Vertigo and Episodes of Slurred Speech in a 5-year-old Girl
Ashwin Malhotra, Louis Manganas, Traci Downs, Sunny Chang, Latha Chandran
Pediatrics in Review Apr 2017, 38 (4) 182; DOI: 10.1542/pir.2015-0022

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
Share
Case 1: Vertigo and Episodes of Slurred Speech in a 5-year-old Girl
Ashwin Malhotra, Louis Manganas, Traci Downs, Sunny Chang, Latha Chandran
Pediatrics in Review Apr 2017, 38 (4) 182; DOI: 10.1542/pir.2015-0022
del.icio.us logo Digg logo Reddit logo Twitter logo CiteULike logo Facebook logo Google logo Mendeley logo
Print
Download PDF
Insight Alerts
  • Table of Contents

Jump to section

  • Article
    • Presentation
    • Discussion
    • Footnotes
    • References
  • Info & Metrics
  • Comments

Related Articles

  • No related articles found.
  • PubMed
  • Google Scholar

Cited By...

  • No citing articles found.
  • Google Scholar

More in this TOC Section

  • Previously Healthy 3-week-old Infant with Limited Right Arm Mobility
  • Dysphagia and Epigastric Pain in an Adolescent Boy
  • Refusal to Use an Upper Extremity in a 17-month-old with Facial Nerve Palsy
Show more Index of Suspicion

Similar Articles

Subjects

  • Neurology
    • Neurology
    • Neurologic Disorders
  • Emergency Medicine
    • Emergency Medicine
  • Journal Info
  • Editorial Board
  • ABP Content Specifications Map
  • Overview
  • Licensing Information
  • Authors
  • Author Guidelines
  • Submit My Manuscript
  • Librarians
  • Institutional Subscriptions
  • Usage Stats
  • Support
  • Contact Us
  • Subscribe
  • Resources
  • Media Kit
  • About
  • International Access
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Statement
  • FAQ
  • AAP.org
  • shopAAP
  • Follow American Academy of Pediatrics on Instagram
  • Visit American Academy of Pediatrics on Facebook
  • Follow American Academy of Pediatrics on Twitter
  • Follow American Academy of Pediatrics on Youtube
American Academy of Pediatrics

© 2021 American Academy of Pediatrics