Background: Early recognition and treatment of autoimmune encephalitis (AE) has become an essential issue in clinical practice. However, little is known about patients with deteriorating conditions and the need for intensive care treatment. Here, we aimed to characterize underlying aetiologies, clinical symptoms, reasons for intensive care admission, and mortality of critically ill patients with AE.
Methods: We conducted a retrospective chart review of all patients with "definite" or "probable" diagnoses of AE treated at our neurological intensive care unit between 2002 and 2015. We collected and analyzed clinical, paraclinical, laboratory findings and assessed the mortality at last follow-up based on patient records.
Results: Twenty-seven patients [median age 55 years (range 25-87), male = 16] were included. Thirteen (48%) had "definite" AE. The most common reasons for admission were status epilepticus (7/27, 26%) and delirium (4/27, 15%). One-year survival was 82%, all five deceased were male, and 3 (60%) of them had "probable" disease. The non-survivors (median follow-up 1 year) were more likely to have underlying cancer and higher need for respiratory support compared to the survivors (p < 0.041, and p = 0.004, respectively).
Conclusions: Clinical presentations and outcomes in critically ill patients with AE are diverse, and the most common leading cause for intensive care unit admission was status epilepticus. The association of comorbid malignancy and the need for mechanical ventilation with mortality deserves further attention.
Keywords: Autoimmune encephalitis; Immune-mediated; Intensive care unit; Mortality; Status epilepticus.