A rare cause of pruritus in an hemodialysed patient

BACKGROUND: Uremic pruritus is frequent in patients undergoing hemodialysis. It's multifactorial secondary in most cases to metabolic complications related to uremia. AIM: We report a rare cause of pruritus in an haemodialysed patient. OBSERVATION: It's a 48-year-old woman in periodic haemodialysis during 17 years. She suffered from generalized pruritus associated with psychiatric disturbance without neurologic deficits. CT scan and magnetic resonance imaging revealed extensive, diffuse and bilateral involvement of the white matter. The diagnosis of large low grade B cell lymphoma was confirmed by the histologic examination of stereotactic biopsy which leads to early intracranial hemorrhage and death. CONCLUSION: Before attributing pruritus to renal failure, one should exclude other causes such as the NHL even rarely reported especially when it associated with psychiatric disturbances. CT scan and magnetic resonance imaging contribute to diagnosis.