{"id":15651,"date":"2020-09-22T09:00:03","date_gmt":"2020-09-22T13:00:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.singlecare.com\/blog\/?p=15651"},"modified":"2020-09-21T14:54:17","modified_gmt":"2020-09-21T18:54:17","slug":"reyes-syndrome","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.singlecare.com\/blog\/reyes-syndrome\/","title":{"rendered":"What parents should know about Reye’s syndrome"},"content":{"rendered":"

What is Reye\u2019s syndrome?<\/a> | Symptoms <\/a>| Diagnosis<\/a> | Treatments <\/a>| Prevention <\/a> <\/span><\/p>\n

If you’re a parent, you may know that you should never give aspirin to a child with chickenpox or the flu. The reason for this is to decrease the risk of a serious condition and potentially fatal disorder called Reye’s syndrome, or Reye syndrome, which can cause liver dysfunction and swelling in the brain and has been linked to the use of aspirin in children and teens with viral infections like influenza, varicella (which causes chickenpox), upper respiratory tract infections, and COVID-19, which is caused by the novel coronavirus.<\/span><\/p>\n

In 1980, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recorded 555 cases of <\/span>Reye’s syndrome<\/span><\/a> in the United States. Fortunately, that same year <\/span>widespread warnings about aspirin use for children started<\/span><\/a>, and since 1994 fewer than two cases have been reported each year nationwide.<\/span><\/p>\n

“In the ’80s, about 1 in every 100,000 kids got it\u2014now, it’s about 1 in a million,” says Amy Cram, MD, a pediatrician with <\/span>Northeast Medical Group<\/span><\/a>. “That’s largely because we know that using aspirin as a fever reducer or anti-inflammatory increases the risk.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Most children (about 80%) who get Reye’s syndrome survive, but it needs to be treated immediately, often in a hospital’s intensive care unit. If left untreated, Reye’s syndrome can lead to permanent brain damage or death in just a few days.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

RELATED: <\/b>What\u2019s the best pain reliever or fever reducer for kids?<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n

What is Reye’s syndrome?<\/h2>\n

Reye’s syndrome is an illness that is almost always found in children and adolescents under the age of 18\u2014<\/span>most commonly those aged 4 to 12<\/span><\/a>\u2014but it can affect people of any age. <\/span>Doctors don’t know<\/span><\/a> exactly what causes Reye’s syndrome, but it always follows another illness and is usually linked to the use of medicines that contain aspirin in children who have a viral infection.<\/span><\/p>\n

Aspirin, also known as acetylsalicylic acid, salicylic acid, or acetylsalicylate, is the <\/span>most-utilized pain-relieving drug in history<\/span><\/a>. It works by inhibiting the body’s production of prostaglandins, which are compounds produced by enzymes in the body that play a key role in the body’s inflammatory response to an infection or injury.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When it is used for a viral illness, aspirin can affect a person’s mitochondria, which are tiny structures in the cells called that generate the power to run the cell.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

“Aspirin in the setting of a viral illness, such as influenza or chickenpox, causes liver mitochondrial injury,” says Nathan Friday, Pharm.D., a pharmacist with <\/span>Kroger<\/span><\/a>. And this causes liver dysfunction.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This mitochondrial dysfunction can lead to a buildup of ammonia\u2014a byproduct of metabolism\u2014in the bloodstream. This condition, called hyperammonemia, can lead to swelling in the brain and increased pressure on the brain as it presses against the skull. The amount of swelling and pressure determine the severity of an individual’s neurologic symptoms.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Reye’s syndrome symptoms<\/h2>\n

Although it affects all the body’s organs, Reye’s syndrome does the most harm to the brain and liver. That’s why, in medical terms, it’s defined as: “acute noninflammatory encephalopathy with fatty liver failure.” Encephalopathy, a condition that alters the brain’s function or structure, is the most dangerous symptom of Reye’s syndrome, but it’s very hard to recognize until the damage is already being done to the brain and the signs of the illness become apparent.<\/span><\/p>\n

Signs typically appear three to five days after the onset of a viral infection and usually start with sudden, continuous vomiting, although in children under 2 years of age, <\/span>the first sign may be diarrhea<\/span><\/a>. The vomiting is usually followed by increased lethargy or unusual sleepiness; however, children less than 12 months may present without vomiting. Neurologic symptoms then start to appear within the next 24 to 48 hours and may include:<\/span><\/p>\n