Wernicke's encephalopathy in a patient with nephrotic syndrome

We report on a 6-year-old boy with nephrotic syndrome (NS) who developed Wernicke's encephalopathy (WE) concomitantly with posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRES). In this case, the recurrence of encephalopathy with different causes made his clinical picture complex, and the follow-up findings of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were critically useful for the adequate diagnosis and timely management of the patient. This case suggests the need to consider WE as a possible serious complication in patients with NS, and also emphasizes the usefulness of MRI in the diagnosis of WE, especially in pediatric cases with complex clinical symptoms.