1. Introduction
The etiologies of brainstem encephalitis (BE) can be divided into
infectious and autoimmune. The most common infectious causes are
listeria, enteroviruses, and herpes viruses.1 Among
these causes, central nervous system (CNS) infection withMycoplasma pneumoniae is rare in adults than in pediatric
patients. As CNS manifestations related to M. pneumoniae are
variable and a positive serological result in adults may simply reflect
carriage or previous encounters with M. pneumoniae , making the
diagnosis of BE associated with M. pneumonia particularly
challenging in adult patients.2
We report a case of BE associated with M. pneumoniae in an
immunocompetent adult patient, diagnosed based on an increased level of
specific IgM antibody against M. pneumoniae through enzyme
immunoassays (EIAs), as comparing levels between the acute phase and the
convalescent sera. The patient recovered without any sequelae despite
initial severe neurological deficits.