Acute Intermittent Porphyria Presenting with Posterior Reversible Encephalopathy Syndrome: A Rare Cause of Abdominal Pain and Seizures

Acute intermittent porphyria (AIP) is an acute neurovisceral porphyria caused due to inherited deficiency of porphobilinogen deaminase (also called hydroxymethylbilane synthase) (HMBS) in the heme biosynthesis pathway. AIP is rarely associated with posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRES), which is a clinicoradiological condition caused by the failure of the posterior circulation to autoregulate, resulting in cerebral edema, headaches, nausea, and seizures. AIP should be considered when a patient presents with unexplained abdominal pain and seizures. This association is important because drugs used in the management of seizures may worsen an attack of AIP. This case report describes a young woman who presented with AIP and PRES with seizures. HOW TO CITE THIS ARTICLE: Sarala Kumari D, Murthy NLN Arumilli, Siva Kumar Reddy L, Nageshwar Reddy D, Motor R. Acute Intermittent Porphyria Presenting with Posterior Reversible Encephalopathy Syndrome: A Rare Cause of Abdominal Pain and Seizures. Indian J Crit Care Med 2020;24(8):724–726.