Posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome induced after blood transfusion for severe anemia

Kei-ichiro Wada, Masayoshi Kano, Yutaka Machida, Nobutaka Hattori, Hideto Miwa

Department of Neurology, Juntendo University Nerima Hospital, Tokyo, Japan.
Department of Neurology, Juntendo University Nerima Hospital, Tokyo, Japan;.
Department of Neurology, Juntendo University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.

DOI: 10.4236/crcm.2013.25089                

Abstract

Posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRES) is a clinicoradiological syndrome characterized by headache, confusion, seizures, and cortical visual loss, as well as subcortical edema without infarction on neuroimaging. We report a 56-year-old woman who developed typical manifestations of PRES, 6 days after blood transfusion for severe anemia. Acute volume overloads by transfusion may exceed the capacity of autoregulation of perfusion pressure, possibly resulting in vasogenic edema. We propose that it is clinically important to recognize that rapid correction of anemia by blood transfusion may carry the risk of inducing PRES.

Keywords

Posterior Reversible Encephalopathy Syndrome; Anemia; Blood Transfusion

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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