Symmetric brainstem necrosis in an adult following hypotension: an arterial end-zone infarct?
A 44-year-old woman with prolonged coma and hypotension following drug overdosage developed bilateral hemorrhagic infarcts in the dorsolateral brainstem. The regional distribution of these paired lesions corresponds to the area of confluence of penetrating arteries in the brainstem. It is suggested that under exceptional circumstances brainstem arterial end-zones may be vulnerable to anoxic-ischemic insult.
D000328:Adult; D001933:Brain Stem / Q000098:blood supply / Q000473:pathology*; D002543:Cerebral Hemorrhage / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology; D002544:Cerebral Infarction / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007022:Hypotension / Q000139:chemically induced*; D009336:Necrosis; D010634:Phenobarbital / Q000506:poisoning
D010634:Phenobarbital