INTRODUCTION: Autoimmune encephalitis (AE) is a group of neuropsychiatric disorders, presenting acutely or sub acutely with alteration of consciousness, cognitive decline, seizures and abnormal movements. Up to now, there is little information about the long-term outcomes and prognostic factors in children.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the neurologic outcomes of AE in children who received intensive comprehensive rehabilitation.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: A retrospective analysis of clinical records of pediatric patients with AE who were admitted to our rehabilitation program from 2012 to 2017 was undertaken.

OUTCOMES: 11 patients were admitted: 45% female, age range: 2-17 years. Etiology: 54% Anti NMDAR encephalitis, 46% possible autoimmune encephalitis without serologic confirmation. Five patients had a decreased level of consciousness at admission, in one case persisting in vegetative state one year later. Nine patients (81%) had seizures in the acute phase, of whom three presented refractory epileptic status. The patient that persisted in vegetative state had a super refractory status epilepticus.

All patients received at least two lines of immunotherapy; in nine of them plasmapheresis was one of them.

Nine patients had a follow up evaluation one year after the acute phase: eight of them performed at average/low average cognitive level and one persisted in vegetative state.

CONCLUSION: A favorable evolution was observed in the majority of children who received intensive rehabilitation at our institution, without evidence of a specific neuropsychological profile at follow. Super refractory status epilepticus was associated with a poor outcome in a patient who persisted in vegetative state.