Posterior reversible leukoencephalopathy syndrome in children with hematologic disorders.

OBJECTIVE Posterior reversible leukoencephalopathy syndrome (PRES) is characterized by headache, altered mental status, cortical blindness, and seizures associated with neuroradiological findings. It involves predominantly white matter of the parieto-occipital lobes. Several medications and disorders play a role in the etiology of PRES. In this study, we aimed to show how the prognosis of PRES in hematological diseases of childhood might be according to the etiological factors. METHODS Here, we report PRES in six patients, aged 4 to 14 years, with diagnoses of leukemia and aplastic anemia. RESULTS Suggested causes in our patients were chemotherapeutics, hypertension, infection and antimicrobial drug administration, tumor lysis syndrome, acute renal failure and hemodialysis, immunosuppressive drug administration, and hypomagnesemia. One of the patients died of sepsis, renal failure and pulmonary hemorrhage and another died of relapse after total recovery from PRES. The other four patients are under follow-up without problems. CONCLUSION We suggest that PRES can recover fully with early diagnosis and treatment whereas it can show poor prognosis depending on the etiology.