Acute encephalopathy with a lesion of the splenium of the corpus callosum – A report of two cases

Abstract We report two cases of encephalopathy following a short febrile illness. Case one was a five year old child whose magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain showed a reversible discrete lesion in the splenium of the corpus callosum (SCC) and a ten year old boy who had extensive hyperintensity of the SCC. As these children have presented while there was an outbreak of influenza in our locality and since the second child tested positive for H1N1 antigen on PCR test, we feel that as previous authors have pointed out, these cases are cases of possible influenza encephalopathy. This awareness needs to be disseminated as this specific MRI finding should prompt one to test for H1N1 antigen and offer specific antiviral agent. Case one showed signs that support the existence of a splenial syndrome.