Skip to main content
. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2021 Oct 28.
Published in final edited form as: J Child Neurol. 2019 May 21;34(10):598–611. doi: 10.1177/0883073819848635

Table 3.

Ladder of Causation Applied to PANS/PANDAS.

Tier, name, probability equation Typical activity Typical question PANDAS example PANS example
3. Counterfactuals P(yx|x’, y’) Imagining What if I had acted differently? If the patient had not had a strep infection, they would not have developed tics If the patient had not been sick, they would not have developed OCD
2. Intervention P(y|do(x), z) Doing What if I do x? If I treat with amoxicillin, the tics will be cured If I treat with plasmapheresis, the OCD will be cured
1. Association P(y|x) Observing How does seeing x change my belief in y? Tics flared up after the patient got an infection OCD flared up after the patient got sick

Abbreviations: OCD, obsessive-compulsive disorder; PANDAS, Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated With Streptococcal Infections; PANS, Pediatric Acute onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome.