A 19-year-old woman had been treated for
bronchiectasis since she was born. In October 1995, she was diagnosed as Henoch-Schönlein
purpura (HSP) and HSP
nephritis with the findings as follows; palpable petechial
rash of legs,
abdominal pain,
arthralgias, and
proteinuria. The administration of oral
prednisolone was started, the clinical symptoms except for
proteinuria was disappeared. However,
nephrotic syndrome was continued despite the
therapy of intravenous
methylprednisolone pulse, various immunosuppressive drugs and
warfarin. In February 1998, she was admitted to our hospital because of
pneumonia. Several days later, her
pneumonia improved on treatment with
antibiotics, but she suddenly developed transient
cortical blindness and
acute renal failure. A provisional diagnosis of
hypertensive encephalopathy and
cerebral edema related to
vasculitis was made, and she was treated with
nifedipine, Glycelo, and high dose
immunoglobulin. After the treatment, her vision and renal function had improved. She is a rare case associated with transient
cortical blindness,
bronchiectasis, and HSP.