What would you do if your young, previously healthy and happy child suddenly developed obsessive-compulsive disorder or symptoms of Tourette’s syndrome?

In “PANDAS: Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal Infection,” authors Christine Pabst and Kim Subasic discuss an unusual pediatric illness that, although identified more than 20 years ago, is not well recognized by clinicians: PANDAS, or Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal Infection.

PANDAS is characterized by the sudden and dramatic onset of “psychiatric” symptoms such as the ones above, appearing during or shortly after infection with group A streptococcus.

Two factors make PANDAS difficult to diagnose.

  • First, it seems so obviously a psychiatric disorder that psychotropic or other psychiatric medications may be prescribed without further investigation.
  • Second, carrying group A streptococcus without signs of actual infection can also precipitate PANDAS, making it difficult to connect PANDAS symptoms with a previous medical illness.

Many providers unfamiliar with PANDAS.

“Unfortunately, many health care providers are unfamiliar with PANDAS or have no experience diagnosing or treating the condition. Parents often see multiple providers before receiving an accurate diagnosis.”

The end result of our unfamiliarity with this condition can mean misdiagnosis, treatment failure, and lifelong complications. For information on PANDAS epidemiology, signs and symptoms, a possible pathogenesis, and treatment course, read this free CE article in the August issue of AJN.