Clinical features and outcomes of children admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit due to posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to analyze the clinical features, neuroimaging findings and outcomes of the children admitted to our tertiary pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) due to posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRES). METHODS: This was a retrospective study where the hospital records of children admitted to PICU due to PRES between January 1, 2011 and January 1, 2021 were reviewed. RESULTS: We enrolled 14 patients with a median age of 8 years (IQR 2.2-14.2) to study. Eight (57 %) patients were male. All patients had comorbid illnesses such as hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis in 3, Β-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia in 2, and different diagnosis in other patients as one one. Three patients had cardiac arrest, 9 patients had seizures, 5 patients had SE, 12 patients had altered mental status, 8 patients had hypertensive crisis, 1 patient had visual impairment. Thirteen patients had occipital involvement, 11 had parietal involvement, 4 had temporal involvement, 1 had thalamic involvement, 2 had cerebellar involvement, 1 had involvement of the corpus callosum, 1 had brainstem involvement, 1 had hippocampus involvement and 1 had involvement of the basal ganglia. Fourteen patients had supratentorial involvement while 3 had infratentorial involvement. Electroencephalogram was performed for 7 patients, out of which 6 revealed encephalopathy. Median PICU LOS was 19.5 days (IQR 13.2-49.2, minimum 2 - maximum 84 days). Five patients had neurologic sequelae. Four (28.5 %) patients died and ten patients survived. CONCLUSION: Co-occurence of hypertension and seizures should prompt consideration of PRES and urgent neuroimaging, particularly in patients on immunosuppressants or chemotherapeutics. Hypertension should be addressed aggressively in patients with PRES. Electroencephalographic monitoring should be performed if there is suspicion of SE or nonconvulsive SE. Despite its usually good prognosis, PRES can cause serious morbidity and mortality with delay in diagnosis or treatment.

A 2-Year-Old Boy With Hypoxemia, Pulmonary Hypertension, and Digital Clubbing.

CASE PRESENTATION: A 2-year-old boy was referred to the Ankara University School of Medicine Children's Hospital with a history of recurrent respiratory distress and cyanosis since birth. His medical history was significant for premature birth at 31 weeks via cesarean section, as an infant of a diabetic mother. There was no parental consanguinity. He was hospitalized in the neonatal ICU after birth because of respiratory distress. After receiving invasive mechanical ventilation for 4 days, noninvasive mechanical ventilation and oxygen therapy were given gradually. As a result of further investigations, he received a diagnosis of situs inversus totalis and pulmonary hypertension. He was discharged on postnatal day 53 without supplemental oxygen therapy or treatment for pulmonary hypertension. Up to the age of 2 years, the patient had a history of multiple admissions to hospital for respiratory distress, lower respiratory tract infection, and cyanosis as an inpatient and outpatient. After starting to walk, shortness of breath and coughing occurred with effort.