Cerebral vasculitis in acute post-streptococcal glomerulonephritis

Neurological complications in acute post-streptococcal glomerulonephritis (APSGN) have been traditionally attributed to hypertensive encephalopathy. A 9-year-old girl with biopsy-documented APSGN developed seizures at a time she was normotensive and biochemically well balanced. Computed tomography of her brain was consistent with vasculitis, a finding which was also clinically supported by apparent vasculitic involvement of other organ systems. All clinical, laboratory and radiological abnormalities resolved with recovery from the APSGN. We suggest that on rare occasions neurological complications in APSGN may result from involvement of the central nervous system in multiorgan transient vasculitis.