PANDAS stands for “Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal Infections”. PANDAS is typically diagnosed when a child has a strep infection and develops other disorders such as obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), a tic disorder, or both. If a child already has either one of these disorders, a strep infection that makes them worse could also be considered PANDAS.
When symptoms develop, they do so quite suddenly. For example, a child may be completely fine when they go to bed at night and wake up with dramatic symptoms such as vocal or motor tics, new compulsions, or obsessions. Other signs of PANDAS can include anxiety attacks, separation anxiety, and irritability. It can be hard to determine if a child has PANDAS because there is no single test available – it takes quite a lot of investigation to come to a positive diagnosis. So how does laboratory testing for identifying PANDAS work? Read on to learn more.
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