Symptoms of Reye's Syndrome

List of symptoms of Reye's Syndrome:

The list of signs and symptoms mentioned in various sources for Reye's Syndrome includes the 55 symptoms listed below:

• Nausea
• Recurrent vomiting
• Listlessness
• Personality changes
• Progressive mental changes
• Irritability
• Combativeness
• Disorientation
• Confusion
• Forgetfulness
• Lethargy
• Agitation
• Disorientation
• Delirium
• Convulsions
• Loss of consciousness
• Coma
• Brain swelling
• Encephalopathy
• Liver dysfunction
• Enlarged liver
• Upper respiratory infection
• Vomiting
• Hemorrhage
• Breathing difficulty
• Fever
• Hypotonia
• Coma usually occurs within 3-5 days of onset
• Convulsions
• Flexion of elbows
• Clenched hands
• Extended legs
• Dilated pupils
• Abnormal reflexes
• Enlarged liver
• Brain swelling
• Increased number of white blood cells in blood
• Increased number of neutrophils in blood
• Low blood sugar
• Elevated blood ammonia level
• Metabolic acidosis
• Low glucose concentration in cerebrospinal fluid
• Ketone bodies in urine
• Excess amino acids in urine
• Diarrhea in children under two
• Hyperventilation in children under two
• Listlessness
• Somnolence
• Irritability
• Behavioral changes
• Seizures
• Cerebral edema
• Elevated serum aminotransferases
• Prolonged prothrombin time
• Brain damage

Note that Reye's Syndrome symptoms usually refers to various symptoms known to a patient, but the phrase Reye's Syndrome signs may refer to those signs only noticable by a doctor.

More ways to research these symptoms: To research other symptoms use the symptom center, or to research causes of more than one symptom in combination, try our multi-symptom search.

Research More About Reye's Syndrome

Do I have Reye's Syndrome?

• Reye's Syndrome: Introduction
• Reye's Syndrome: Diagnostic Testing to confirm diagnosis
• Home Diagnostic Testing
• Alternative diagnoses and misdiagnosis for Reye's Syndrome
• How serious is it?
• Treatments for Reye's Syndrome
• More about Reye's Syndrome

Home Diagnostic Testing

Home medical tests related to Reye's Syndrome:

• Vision & Eye Health: Home Testing:
  • Home Eye Tests
  • Home Vision Tests

Less Common Symptoms of Reye's Syndrome:

Ocassionally other symptoms may also present themselves as symptoms of Reye's Syndrome. 1 of the more common ones are included in the list below:

• Pneumonia

Wrongly Diagnosed with Reye's Syndrome?

The list of other diseases or medical conditions that may be on the differential diagnosis list of alternative diagnoses for Reye's Syndrome includes:

• Encephalitis
• Meningitis
• Diabetes
• Drug overdose
• Poisoning

See the full list of 9 alternative diagnoses for Reye's Syndrome

More about symptoms of Reye's Syndrome:

More information about symptoms of Reye's Syndrome and related conditions:

• Other diseases with similar symptoms and common misdiagnoses
• Tests to determine if these are the symptoms of Reye's Syndrome
• Symptoms that may be caused by complications of Reye's Syndrome
• Underlying causes of Reye's Syndrome

Other Possible Causes of these Symptoms

Click on any of the symptoms below to see a full list of other causes including diseases, medical conditions, toxins, drug interactions, or drug side effect causes of that symptom.

• Agitation - see all causes of Agitation
• Behavioral changes - see all causes of Behavioral symptoms
• Brain damage - see all causes of Brain damage
• Brain swelling - see all causes of Brain swelling
• Brain swelling - see all causes of Brain swelling
• Breathing difficulty - see all causes of Breathing difficulties
• Clenched hands - see all causes of Hand Spasm
• Coma - see all causes of Coma
• Coma usually occurs within 3-5 days of onset - see all causes of Coma
• Combativeness - see all causes of Aggression
• Confusion - see all causes of Confusion
• Convulsions - see all causes of Convulsions
• Convulsions - see all causes of Convulsions
• Delirium - see all causes of Delirium
• Dilated pupils - see all causes of Dilated pupils
• Disorientation - see all causes of Disorientation
• Disorientation - see all causes of Disorientation
• Elevated blood ammonia level - see all causes of Elevated blood ammonia level
• Encephalopathy - see all causes of Encephalopathy
• Enlarged liver - see all causes of Enlarged liver
• Enlarged liver - see all causes of Enlarged liver
• Excess amino acids in urine - see all causes of Urine substances
• Fever - see all causes of Fever
• Forgetfulness - see all causes of Forgetfulness
• Hemorrhage - see all causes of Bleeding symptoms
• Hypotonia - see all causes of Muscle weakness
• Increased number of white blood cells in blood - see all causes of Increased number of white blood cells in blood
• Irritability - see all causes of Irritability
• Irritability - see all causes of Irritability
• Lethargy - see all causes of Lethargy
• Listlessness - see all causes of Listlessness
• Listlessness - see all causes of Listlessness
• Liver dysfunction - see all causes of Liver dysfunction
• Loss of consciousness - see all causes of Syncope
• Low blood sugar - see all causes of Low blood sugar
• Nausea - see all causes of Nausea
• Personality changes - see all causes of Personality change
• Progressive mental changes - see all causes of Cognitive impairment
• Recurrent vomiting - see all causes of Vomiting
• Seizures - see all causes of Seizures
• Somnolence - see all causes of Drowsiness
• Upper respiratory infection - see all causes of Upper respiratory infection
• Vomiting - see all causes of Vomiting

Medical Books Online about Reye's Syndrome

Medical Books Excerpts Excerpts of published medical book chapters related to Reye's Syndrome are available from published medical books for more detailed information about Reye's Syndrome.

Copyright notice for book excerpts: Copyright © 2008 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. All rights reserved.

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Symptoms of Reye's Syndrome: Online Medical Books

16 MEDICAL BOOKS ONLINE! Review excerpts from medical books online, free, without registration, for more information about the symptoms of Reye's Syndrome.

Reye's syndrome: Signs and symptoms
(Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition))

The severity of the child’s signs and symptoms varies with the degree of encephalopathy and cerebral edema. In any case, Reye’s syndrome develops in five stages. After the initial viral infection, a brief recovery period follows when the child doesn’t seem seriously ill. A few days later, he develops intractable vomiting; lethargy; rapidly changing mental status (mild to severe agitation, confusion, irritability, and delirium); rising blood pressure, respiratory rate, and pulse rate; and hyperactive reflexes.

Reye’s syndrome commonly progresses to coma. As coma deepens, seizures develop, followed by decreased tendon reflexes and, usually, respiratory failure.

Increased ICP, a serious complication, is now considered the result of an increased cerebral blood volume causing intracranial hypertension. Such swelling may develop as a result of acidosis, increased cerebral metabolic rate, and an impaired autoregulatory mechanism.

READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »

Viral hepatitis: Signs and symptoms
(Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition))

Assessment findings are similar for the different types of hepatitis. Typically, signs and symptoms progress in several stages.

In the prodromal (preicteric) stage, the patient typically complains of easy fatigue and anorexia (possibly with mild weight loss), generalized malaise, depression, headache, weakness, arthralgia, myalgia, photophobia, and nausea with vomiting. He also may describe changes in his senses of taste and smell.

Assessment of the patient’s vital signs may reveal a fever of 100° to 102° F (37.8° to 38.9° C). As the prodromal stage ends, usually 1 to 5 days before the onset of the clinical jaundice stage, inspection of urine and stool specimens may reveal dark-colored urine and clay-colored stools.

If the patient has progressed to the clinical jaundice stage, he may report pruritus, abdominal pain or tenderness, and indigestion. Early in this stage, he may complain of anorexia; later, his appetite may return. Inspection of the sclerae, mucous membranes, and skin may reveal jaundice, which can last for 1 to 2 weeks. Jaundice indicates that the damaged liver is unable to remove bilirubin from the blood; however, its presence doesn’t indicate the severity of the disease. Occasionally, hepatitis occurs without jaundice.

During the clinical jaundice stage, inspection of the skin may detect rashes, erythematous patches, or urticaria, especially if the patient has hepatitis B or C. Palpation may disclose abdominal tenderness in the right upper quadrant, an enlarged and tender liver and, in some cases, splenomegaly and cervical adenopathy.

During the recovery (posticteric) stage, most of the patient’s symptoms decrease or subside. On palpation, a decrease in liver enlargement may be noted. The recovery phase commonly lasts from 2 to 12 weeks, although sometimes this phase lasts longer in the patient with hepatitis B, C, or E.Little is known about hepatitis G.

READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »

Nonviral hepatitis: Signs and symptoms
(Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition))

Clinical features of toxic and drug-induced hepatitis vary with the severity of the liver damage and the causative agent. In most patients, signs and symptoms resemble those of viral hepatitis: anorexia, nausea, vomiting, jaundice, dark urine, hepatomegaly, possible abdominal pain (with acute onset and massive necrosis), and clay-colored stools or pruritus with the cholestatic form of hepatitis. Carbon tetrachloride poisoning also produces headache, dizziness, drowsiness, and vasomotor collapse; halothane-related hepatitis produces fever, moderate leukocytosis, and eosinophilia; chlorpromazine toxicity produces abrupt fever, rash, arthralgia, lymphadenopathy, and epigastric or right upper quadrant pain.

READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »

Hepatic encephalopathy: Signs and symptoms
(Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition))

Clinical manifestations of hepatic encephalopathy vary (depending on the severity of neurologic involvement) and develop in four stages:

❑ In the prodromal stage, early signs and symptoms are commonly overlooked because they’re so subtle: slight personality changes (disorientation, forgetfulness, and slurred speech) and a slight tremor.

❑ During the impending stage, tremor progresses into asterixis (liver flap and flapping tremor), the hallmark of hepatic encephalopathy. Asterixis is characterized by quick, irregular extensions and flexions of the wrists and fingers, when the wrists are held out straight and the hands flexed upward. Lethargy, aberrant behavior, and apraxia also occur.

❑ At the stuporous stage, hyperventilation occurs; the patient is typically stuporous, but becomes noisy and abusive when aroused.

❑ In the comatose stage, the patient has hyperactive reflexes, a positive Babinski’s sign, fetor hepaticus (musty, sweet odor to the breath), and coma.

READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »

Fatty liver: Signs and symptoms
(Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition))

Clinical features of fatty liver vary with the degree of lipid infiltration, and many patients are asymptomatic. The most typical sign is a large, tender liver (hepatomegaly). Common signs and symptoms include right upper quadrant pain (with massive or rapid infiltration),ascites, edema, jaundice, and fever (all with hepatic necrosis or biliary stasis). (See Massive ascites in fatty liver.) Nausea, vomiting, and anorexia are less common. Splenomegaly usually accompanies cirrhosis. Rarer changes are spider angiomas, varices, transient gynecomastia, and menstrual disorders.

READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »

Reye's syndrome: Signs and symptoms
(Handbook of Diseases)

Reye’s syndrome develops in five stages, but the severity of the child’s signs and symptoms varies with the degree of encephalopathy and cerebral edema. Infants may have atypical presentation.

After the initial viral infection, a brief recovery period follows when the child doesn’t seem seriously ill. A few days later, he develops intractable vomiting, lethargy, rapidly changing mental status (mild to severe agitation, confusion, irritability, delirium), hyperactive reflexes, and rising blood pressure, respiratory rate, and pulse rate.

Reye’s syndrome may progress to coma. As the coma deepens, seizures develop, followed by decreased tendon reflexes and, commonly, respiratory failure.

Increased ICP, a serious complication, results from cerebral edema. Such edema may develop as a result of acidosis, increased cerebral metabolic rate, or an impaired autoregulatory mechanism.

READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »

Hepatitis, viral: Signs and symptoms
(Handbook of Diseases)

Assessment findings are similar for the different types of hepatitis. Typically, signs and symptoms progress in three stages — prodromal (preicteric), clinical (icteric), and recovery (posticteric).

Prodromal stage

In the prodromal stage, the patient typically complains of easy fatigue, anorexia (possibly with mild weight loss), generalized malaise, depression, headache, weakness, arthralgia, myalgia, photophobia, and nausea with vomiting. He also may describe changes in his senses of taste and smell.

Assessment of vital signs may reveal a temperature of 100° to 102° F (37.8° to 38.9° C). As the prodromal stage draws to a close, usually 1 to 5 days before the onset of the clinical jaundice stage, inspection of urine and stool specimens may reveal dark-colored urine and clay-colored stools.

Clinical jaundice stage

If the patient has progressed to the clinical jaundice stage, he may report pruritus, abdominal pain or tenderness, and indigestion. Early in this stage, he may complain of anorexia; later, his appetite may return. Inspection of the sclerae, mucous membranes, and skin may reveal jaundice, which can last for 1 to 2 weeks.

Jaundice indicates that the damaged liver can’t remove bilirubin from the blood, but it doesn’t indicate the severity of the disease. Occasionally, hepatitis occurs without jaundice.

During the clinical jaundice stage, inspection of the skin may detect rashes, erythematous patches, and urticaria, especially if the patient has hepatitis B or C. Palpation may disclose abdominal tenderness in the right upper quadrant, an enlarged and tender liver and, in some cases, splenomegaly and cervical adenopathy.

Recovery stage

During the recovery stage, most of the patient’s symptoms decrease or subside. On palpation, a decrease in liver enlargement may be noted. The recovery stage commonly lasts from 2 to 12 weeks, although sometimes this stage lasts longer in patients with hepatitis B, C, or E.

READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »

Hepatitis, nonviral: Signs and symptoms
(Handbook of Diseases)

Clinical features of toxic and drug-induced hepatitis vary with the severity of the liver damage and the causative agent. In most patients, symptoms resemble those of viral hepatitis: anorexia, nausea, vomiting, jaundice, dark urine, hepatomegaly, possibly abdominal pain (with acute onset and massive necrosis), clay-colored stools, and pruritus with the cholestatic form of hepatitis.

Clinical tip  Carbon tetrachloride poisoning also produces headache, dizziness, drowsiness, and vasomotor collapse; halothane-related hepatitis produces fever, moderate leukocytosis, and eosinophilia; chlorpromazine produces a rash, abrupt fever, arthralgias, lymphadenopathy, and epigastric or right upper quadrant pain.

READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »

Hepatic encephalopathy: Signs and symptoms
(Handbook of Diseases)

Clinical manifestations of hepatic encephalopathy vary, depending on the severity of neurologic involvement, and develop in four stages. Encephalopathy is usually graded by behavioral changes, the presence of asterixis, and EEG findings, with behavioral changes being the most apparent indicator.

❑ Grade or stage I (prodromal stage): mood fluctuation, sleep-wake reversal, forgetfulness; commonly overlooked because early symptoms, such as slight personality changes (disorientation, slurred speech) and a slight tremor, are subtle.

❑ Grade or stage II (impending stage): disorientation, confusion; may be incontinent; tremor progressing to asterixis, the hallmark of hepatic encephalopathy. Asterixis is characterized by quick, irregular extensions and flexions of the wrists and fingers when the wrists are held out straight and the hands flexed upward. Lethargy, aberrant behavior, and apraxia also occur.

❑ Grade or stage III (stuporous stage): hyperventilation; patient is stuporous but noisy and abusive when aroused.

❑ Grade or stage IV (comatose stage): hyperactive reflexes, a positive Babinski’s sign, fetor hepaticus (musty, sweet breath odor), and coma.

READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »

Fatty liver: Signs and symptoms
(Handbook of Diseases)

Clinical features of fatty liver vary with the degree of lipid infiltration, and many patients are asymptomatic. The most typical sign is a large, tender liver (hepatomegaly). Common symptoms include right upper quadrant pain (with massive or rapid infiltration), ascites, edema, jaundice, and fever (all with hepatic necrosis or biliary stasis).

Nausea, vomiting, and anorexia are less common. Splenomegaly usually accompanies cirrhosis. Rarer changes are spider angiomas, varices, transient gynecomastia, and menstrual disorders.

READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »

Article Excerpts About Symptoms of Reye's Syndrome:

Symptoms of RS include persistent or recurrent vomiting, listlessness, personality changes such as irritability or combativeness, disorientation or confusion, delirium, convulsions, and loss of consciousness. If these symptoms are present during or soon after a viral illness, medical attention should be sought immediately. The symptoms of RS in infants do not follow a typical pattern; for example, vomiting does not always occur. (Source: excerpt from NINDS Reye's Syndrome Information Page: NINDS)

Reye's Syndrome as a Cause of Symptoms or Medical Conditions

When considering symptoms of Reye's Syndrome, it is also important to consider Reye's Syndrome as a possible cause of other medical conditions. The Disease Database lists the following medical conditions that Reye's Syndrome may cause:

• Ammonia levels raised (blood)
• Coagulopathy
• Creatine kinase levels raised (plasma or serum)
• Hepatic failure
• Hypoglycaemia
• Jaundice
• Pancreatitis, acute

Medical articles and books on symptoms:

These general reference articles may be of interest in relation to medical signs and symptoms of disease in general:

• Diagnostic Testing for a Diagnosis of Reye's Syndrome
• Research Alternative Diagnoses for Reye's Syndrome
• How serious is Reye's Syndrome?
• More about Reye's Syndrome
• Online Diagnosis
• Self Diagnosis Pitfalls
• Pitfalls of Online Diagnosis
• Symptoms of the Silent Killer Diseases
• Lesser known silent killer diseases
• Books on signs and symptoms

Full list of premium articles on symptoms and diagnosis

About signs and symptoms of Reye's Syndrome:

The symptom information on this page attempts to provide a list of some possible signs and symptoms of Reye's Syndrome. This signs and symptoms information for Reye's Syndrome has been gathered from various sources, may not be fully accurate, and may not be the full list of Reye's Syndrome signs or Reye's Syndrome symptoms. Furthermore, signs and symptoms of Reye's Syndrome may vary on an individual basis for each patient. Only your doctor can provide adequate diagnosis of any signs or symptoms and whether they are indeed Reye's Syndrome symptoms.