A case of PRES in an active lupus nephritis patient after treatment of corticosteroid and cyclophosphamide

Posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRES) is primarily a radiological diagnosis. The syndrome is characterized by headache, altered mental status, seizures, and bilateral posterior white matter edema in a nonvascular distribution on neuroimaging with resolution of findings usually in 7-14 days (Casey et al. in AJNR Am J Neuroradiol 21:1199-1206, 2000). In most cases, computed tomography of the brain will show hypodense lesions in the parieto-occipital lobe. Although this syndrome is uncommon, prompt and accurate recognition allows early treatment, which has been shown to produce favorable outcomes. It is hypothesized that the dysfunction can be caused by a failure of autoregulation systemic hypertension or by the cytotoxic effects of vasculitides and immunosuppressive drugs. The present report is a possible second case of cyclophosphamide-induced PRES in a 16-year-old girl with systemic lupus erythematous and lupus nephritis. The initial suspected diagnosis was an ischemic stroke, but it was later changed, with resolution of symptoms after management of the underlying cause.