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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: João André Alves Silva, M.D. [2]
Abortive poliomyelitis must be differentiated from other diseases that cause fever, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, headache, and sore throat, such as gastroenteritis or acute respiratory infection.[1][2]
Paralytic poliomyelitis must be differentiated from other diseases that cause headache, muscle pain, lethargy, muscle weakness, spams, and tremors, such as Guillain-Barré syndrome, traumatic neuritis of the sciatic nervev transverse myelitisv and West Nile Virus.[2][1][3][4][5][6]
The table below summarizes the findings that differentiate poliomyelitis from other conditions that cause headache, fever, muscle pain; nausea and vomiting:[2][1][3][4][5][6][7]
| Disease | Findings |
|---|---|
| Gastroenteritis | Self-limited condition that often presents with abdominal pain, diarrhea, fever, loss of appetite; nausea and vomiting. It may be differentiated from abortive poliomyelitis with serologic tests. |
| Acute respiratory infection | Often presents with nasal discharge or congestion, sore throat, cough, fever, headache, malaise, and muscle weakness. It may be differentiated from abortive poliomyelitis with serologic tests. |
The table below summarizes the findings that differentiate poliomyelitis from other conditions that cause headache, muscle pain; lethargy, muscle weakness, spams and tremors:[2][1][3][4][5][6][7]
| Disease | Findings |
|---|---|
| Guillain-Barré syndrome | Often presents with distal, ascending, symmetrical paralysis with abolished reflexes. Unlike paralytic poliomyelitis, it does not cause muscular atrophy, or skeletal deformities. |
| Traumatic neuritis of the sciatic nerve | Often occurs few days after intramuscular injections, presenting with pain and decreased temperature of the affected limb. Unlike paralytic poliomyelitis, it has an injection as causative agent, and does not cause muscular atrophy, or skeletal deformities. |
| Transverse myelitis | Often presents as symmetrical, flaccid paresis, decreased sensory level and neurogenic bladder. Unlike paralytic poliomyelitis, it does not typically cause skeletal deformities. |
| West Nile Virus | May present as a mild disease, with abdominal pain, diarrhea, fever, headache, and myalgia, or as a more severe form, that may be life-threatening, called West Nile encephalitis, which may present with: confusion, muscle weakness, and stiff neck. It may be differentiated from paralytic poliomyelitis with serologic tests. |
| Encephalitis | Often occurs with fever; confusion; irritability; vomiting; and stiff neck. Commonly, it does not present with paralysis and may be differentiated from paralytic poliomyelitis with serologic tests. |
The following table differentiates poliomyelitis from other diseases that cause muscle weakness, hypotonia, and flaccid paralysis:[8][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23]
| Diseases | History and Physical | Diagnostic tests | Other Findings | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Motor Deficit | Sensory deficit | Cranial nerve Involvement | Autonomic dysfunction | Proximal/Distal/Generalized | Ascending/Descending/Systemic | Unilateral (UL)
or Bilateral (BL) or No Lateralization (NL) |
Onset | Lab or Imaging Findings | Specific test | ||
| Adult Botulism | + | - | + | + | Generalized | Descending | BL | Sudden | Toxin test | Blood, Wound, or Stool culture | Diplopia, Hyporeflexia, Hypotonia, possible respiratory paralysis |
| Infant Botulism | + | - | + | + | Generalized | Descending | BL | Sudden | Toxin test | Blood, Wound, or Stool culture | Flaccid paralysis (Floppy baby syndrome), possible respiratory paralysis |
| Guillian-Barre syndrome[24] | + | - | - | - | Generalized | Ascending | BL | Insidious | CSF: ↑Protein
↓Cells |
Clinical & Lumbar Puncture | Progressive ascending paralysis following infection, possible respiratory paralysis |
| Eaton Lambert syndrome[25] | + | - | + | + | Generalized | Systemic | BL | Intermittent | EMG, repetitive nerve stimulation test (RNS) | Voltage gated calcium channel (VGCC) antibody | Diplopia, ptosis, improves with movement (as the day progresses) |
| Myasthenia gravis[26] | + | - | + | + | Generalized | Systemic | BL | Intermittent | EMG, Edrophonium test | Ach receptor antibody | Diplopia, ptosis, worsening with movement (as the day progresses) |
| Electrolyte disturbance[27] | + | + | - | - | Generalized | Systemic | BL | Insidious | Electrolyte panel | ↓Ca++, ↓Mg++, ↓K+ | Possible arrhythmia |
| Organophosphate toxicity[28] | + | + | - | + | Generalized | Ascending | BL | Sudden | Clinical diagnosis: physical exam & history | Clinical suspicion confirmed with RBC AchE activity | History of exposure to insecticide or living in farming environment. with : Diarrhea, Urination, Miosis, Bradycardia, Lacrimation, Emesis, Salivation, Sweating |
| Tick paralysis (Dermacentor tick)[29] | + | - | - | - | Generalized | Ascending | BL | Insidious | Clinical diagnosis: physical exam & history | - | History of outdoor activity in Northeastern United States. The tick is often still latched to the patient at presentation (often in head and neck area) |
| Tetrodotoxin poisoning[30] | + | - | + | + | Generalized | Systemic | BL | Sudden | Clinical diagnosis: physical exam & dietary history | - | History of consumption of puffer fish species. |
| Stroke[31] | +/- | +/- | +/- | +/- | Generalized | Systemic | UL | Sudden | MRI +ve for ischemia or hemorrhage | MRI | Sudden unilateral motor and sensory deficit in a patient with a history of atherosclerotic risk factors (diabetes, hypertension, smoking) or atrial fibrillation. |
| Poliomyelitis[32] | + | + | + | +/- | Proximal > Distal | Systemic | BL or UL | Sudden | PCR of CSF | Asymmetric paralysis following a flu-like syndrome. | |
| Transverse myelitis[33] | + | + | + | + | Proximal > Distal | Systemic | BL or UL | Sudden | MRI & Lumbar puncture | MRI | History of chronic viral or autoimmune disease (e.g. HIV) |
| Neurosyphilis[34][23] | + | + | - | +/- | Generalized | Systemic | BL | Insidious | MRI & Lumbar puncture | CSF VDRL-specifc | History of unprotected sex or multiple sexual partners.
History of genital ulcer (chancre), diffuse maculopapular rash. |
| Muscular dystrophy[36] | + | - | - | - | Proximal > Distal | Systemic | BL | Insidious | Genetic testing | Muscle biopsy | Progressive proximal lower limb weakness with calf pseudohypertrophy in early childhood. Gower sign positive. |
| Multiple sclerosis exacerbation[37] | + | + | + | + | Generalized | Systemic | NL | Sudden | ↑CSF IgG levels
(monoclonal) |
Clinical assessment and MRI [38] | Blurry vision, urinary incontinence, fatigue |
| Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis[39] | + | - | - | - | Generalized | Systemic | BL | Insidious | Normal LP (to rule out DDx) | MRI & LP | Patient initially presents with upper motor neuron deficit (spasticity) followed by lower motor neuron deficit (flaccidity). |
| Inflammatory myopathy[40] | + | - | - | - | Proximal > Distal | Systemic | UL or BL | Insidious | Elevated CK & Aldolase | Muscle biopsy | Progressive proximal muscle weakness in 3rd to 5th decade of life. With or without skin manifestations. |
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