[Acute disseminated encephalomyelitis presenting as an acute urinary febrile retention]. / Un cas d'encéphalomyélite aiguë disséminée post-infectieuse découvert devant une rétention vésicale fébrile.

INTRODUCTION: MRI should be performed in the presence of an acute febrile urinary retention, when septic and obstructive causes are eliminated. We report a case of post-infectious probable acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM) with a mostly spinal cord tropism of involving Campylobacter. CASE REPORT: A 32-year-old man with no medical history was admitted for an acute febrile urinary retention. He reported severe diarrhea 3 days before. Clinical course was then complicated by a progressive tetraparesis predominating in the lower limbs. Medullar MRI showed thoracic myelitis. A five-day course of intravenous corticosteroids allowed a full recovery of both the motor and urinary symptoms. Fecal culture isolated Campylobacter sp. Final diagnosis was post-bacterial ADEM. CONCLUSION: Clinical findings and MRI allow clinicians to suspect acute disseminated encephalomyelitis. This hypothesis implies to actively look for recent infections or vaccinations preceding the clinical presentation.