ANALYSIS OF PATIENTS’ CLINICAL PRESENTATION AT THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA’S CPAE CLINIC IN EFFECTIVELY REPRESENTING THE ASSIGNED CPAE NUMERICAL CATEGORIES

Abstract

Pediatric acute-onset neuropsychiatric syndrome (PANS) and pediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorder associated with streptococcal infection (PANDAS) are two disorders under the category of postinfectious autoimmune encephalopathy. For a patient to be diagnosed with PANS or PANDAS, certain criteria must be upheld. This report is an analysis of the records of 125 patients who were seen in the Childhood Postinfectious Autoimmune Encephalopathy (CPAE) clinic at the University of Arizona. Signs and symptoms and demographic information identified at enrollment were analyzed based on categories designated by the clinicians in the clinic. A review of the data from the clinic shows that there is no significant difference in the age of onset or age at visit between the “definite”, “probable”, and “not present” groups. There is no significant difference in the average age of onset or the average age at visit between males and females. Between males and females, no significant difference exists in the average age of onset or the average age at visit. Males are more likely to report symptoms of oppositional defiant disorder and less likely not to report problems with executive function compared to females. Increasing the sample size of patients may cause more statistically significant associations to appear. A higher-quality metric must be established in order to better identify the differences in symptom presentation between males and females.