Cognitive dysfunction in cholesterol embolic disease.
A patient who developed neurological and renal complications following coronary angiogram and coronary artery bypass grafting is reported. Neurological involvement was in the form of fluctuating sensorium and a subcortical pattern of dementia. Renal failure was seen in the form of raised urea and creatinine levels. Renal biopsy revealed the cause of the renal failure to be due to cholesterol embolic disease. While the sensorium often improved following renal replacement therapy (dialysis), the dementia was poorly responsive to therapy. The patient succumbed due to progressive renal failure. Awareness of the protean manifestations and a high index of suspicion are essential for appropriate diagnosis in order to enable the clinician to accurately prognosticate in this often fatal disease.