A Case Report of Posterior Reversible Encephalopathy Syndrome in a Libyan Child Stung by Scorpion and Review of the Literatures

Posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRESS) is a disorder of reversible subcortical vasogenic brain edema predominantly involving the parieto-occipital regions of the brain bilaterally. The pathophysiology of PRESS is not yet well known. PRESS occurs more in patients with acute neurological symptoms (seizures, encephalopathy, headache, and visual disturbances) or patients with renal failure and fluctuation of blood pressure. PRESS can also happen with the use of cytotoxic drugs, autoimmune disorders, sepsis, and pre-eclampsia or eclampsia. PRESS after scorpion sting is uncommon and rarely reported in literature. PRESS is generally reversible, both radiologically and clinically. Treatment of PRESS is symptomatic and involve determining and treating the underlying cause. We report on a case of 2.5-year old female developed PRESS with normal blood pressure after being stung by a scorpion. Her outcome was favorable despite the tumultuous hospital course. To the best of our knowledge, this is the third child reported with PRESS in the literature following a scorpion sting.

Keywords:Posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRESS); Seizures, Scorpion sting; Brain MRI; Cerebral autoregulation; Blood brain barrier; Edema