Ra. Rangelguerra et al., REYES-SYNDROME IN AN ADULT PATIENT A REVI EW OF THE PROPOSED PATHOGENIC MECHANISMS, Revista de Investigacion Clinica, 46(5), 1994, pp. 417-420
Reye's syndrome is considered a disease of the pediatric age. It is ch
aracterized by a prodrome of viral illness followed by vomiting and en
cephalopathy with associated hepatic dysfunction. This syndrome is pot
entially life-threatening with high morbidity and mortality rates. The
re are 27 other cases of adult onset Reye's syndrome reported in the l
iterature. We describe a 18-year-old woman who developed varicella and
four days later started with vomiting, delirium and in the following
day she became comatose. Laboratory tests of liver function and pathol
ogy of a liver biopsy proved the diagnosis. The patient survived. A re
view of the proposed pathogenic mechanisms are presented. Our patient
represents case the number 28 in world literature and the first in the
mexican literature.