Zespół tylnej odwracalnej encefalopatii u chłopca leczonego z powodu ostrej białaczki limfoblastycznej

Abstract Posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRES) embraces serious neurological symptoms, including seizures, headache, visual disturbances, mental disturbances and aphasia, usually accompanied by increased blood pressure. Diagnosis is based on clinical symptoms and characteristic central nervous system lesions, localized in the white and grey matter of the parieto-occipital part of the brain, revealed on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). In the majority of cases, PRES symptoms subside spontaneously, both clinically and radiologically, without permanent neurological consequences. Risk factors of PRES development described in literature include chemotherapy and immunosuppression. In this report, we present a 13-year-old boy with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia who developed acute neurological symptoms in the form of two episodes of generalized seizures. PRES was diagnosed based on clinical signs and characteristic lesions visible on MRI. Prompt diagnosis and administration of anti-hypertensive drugs resulted in a regression of the observed symptoms. The case seems to indicate the necessity of including posterior reversible encephalopathy in the differential diagnosis of neurological symptoms in children with leukaemia.