Enterovirus-Associated Brain Stem Encephalitis Mistaken for Epilepsia Partialis Continua

We report the case of a 7-year-old girl presenting with acute onset hemifacial muscle contractions. The movement disorder manifested in recurrent episodes lasting from several minutes up to hours without propagation. Cranial imaging results did not reveal any clues for explaining the symptoms. CSF analysis showed signs for enterovirus associated viral meningoencephalitis. We characterize the neurological phenotype before and after intravenous immunoglobulins and roughly indicate the pitfalls in the case of hemifacial myoclonic jerks.