Intestinal duplication revealed by posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome

Abstract

We report a unique case of intestinal duplication detected on posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRES) in a 13-year-old girl. She was admitted to the pediatric Emergency Department because of generalized seizures. Radiological assessment revealed a large, well-defined, thick-walled cystic lesion in the mid abdomen, suggestive of duplication cyst associated to a PRES. Exploration confirmed the diagnosis of ileal duplication cyst, and the mass was resected. The postoperative course was uneventful. Both hypertension and neurological dysfunction resolved after the mass resection. A followup brain magnetic resonance imaging was performed 9 months later and showed complete resolution of the cerebellar changes. Although extrinsic compression of the retroperitoneal structures has not been reported in the literature as a complication of duplication cyst, we strongly believe that this is the most logical and plausible hypothesis that would explain the pathogenesis of PRES in our patient.