Bickerstaff Brainstem Encephalitis Criteria
Bickerstaff brainstem-encephalitis checklist (Odaka 2003): a verdict on whether the required core plus supportive findings are consistent with BBE.
Open the calculator → Runs in your browser. Data leaves only if you deliberately send a problem report from the interactive tool.
Example
- Progressive, symmetric external ophthalmoplegia
- Yes
- Ataxia
- Yes
- Altered consciousness
- Yes
- Supportive
- Yes
Result: features consistent with Bickerstaff brainstem encephalitis
The tool opens with these values already filled in. Replace them with your own.
What the result means
- Core
- progressive symmetric external ophthalmoplegia AND ataxia (within ~4 weeks) PLUS altered consciousness OR hyperreflexia (one central feature suffices).
- Supportive
- anti-GQ1b IgG antibody, a brainstem MRI lesion, and CSF albuminocytologic dissociation support but are never required; seronegative cases are recognized.
What you enter
- Progressive, symmetric external ophthalmoplegia
- Ataxia
- Altered consciousness (drowsiness / stupor / coma)
- Hyperreflexia
- Supportive: anti-GQ1b IgG antibody
- Supportive: brainstem MRI lesion
- Supportive: CSF albuminocytologic dissociation
How this is calculated
Odaka M, Yuki N, Yamada M, et al. Bickerstaff's brainstem encephalitis: clinical features of 62 cases and a subgroup associated with Guillain-Barre syndrome. Brain. 2003;126(Pt 10):2279-2290. Read the source ↗
A reference and educational tool. Not medical, legal, or financial advice, and not a substitute for clinician judgment.