Application of Cerebral Electrical Impedance Tomography in Monitoring a Child with Severe Encephalitis: A Case Report and Literature Review

Objective: To investigate the utility of cerebral electrical impedance tomography (EIT) in monitoring cerebral fluid dynamics in pediatric severe encephalitis, with validation against conventional neuroimaging imaging (CT/MRI). Methods : We present a case of a child with severe encephalitis and status epilepticus. Bedside EIT (EH-300 system) monitoring was conducted continuously for four days. Quantitative EIT parameters including whole-brain impedance, regional impedance, and balance degree index were analyzed. Temporal and spatial variations in these parameters were compared with findings from cranial CT and MRI. Results : Initial cranial CT revealed no definite structural abnormalities. In contrast, EIT detected early pathophysiological alterations, demonstrating significant prefrontal impedance asymmetry (anteroposterior balance degree BD1: 15.30%) and a progressive decrease in right prefrontal impedance (total R1IMP change rate: -19.81%). Subsequent MRI confirmed multiple abnormal signals in both cerebral hemispheres; the lesion distribution showed high spatial consistency with the regional abnormalities earlier identified by EIT. Furthermore, EIT captured dynamic fluctuations that were not assessable through real-time conventional imaging. Conclusion : Employing well-defined quantitative algorithms, cerebral EIT can identify early functional abnormalities prior to the detection of structural changes on conventional imaging. Its dynamic monitoring capability provides a valuable bedside tool for early warning, lesion localization, and therapeutic response assessment in severe encephalitis. This study was approved by the Hospital Ethics Management Committee (Approval No: 2025-TEC-0014). Written informed consent was obtained from the patient’s legal guardian(s) for publication of this case report and any accompanying images.