title: Intracranial vasculitis and multiple abscesses in a pregnant woman.
abstract: Cerebral vasculitis is an unusual disorder with many causes. Infectious causes of cerebral vasculitis are predominantly bacterial or viral in nature. Purulent bacterial vasculitis is most often a complication of severe bacterial meningitis. The patient is a 25-year-old African American female, 25 weeks pregnant, who presented to the neurology service after a consult and referral from an outside hospital. She had a 1-month history of right sixth nerve palsy. Initial workup included a negative lumber puncture and a noninfused magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Three days later, the patient developed right-sided migraine headaches and right third nerve palsy. The angiogram revealed diffuse irregularity and narrowing of the petrous, cavernous, and supraclinoid portions of the internal carotid and right middle cerebral arteries. Shortly thereafter, an MRI examination revealed diffuse leptomeningeal enhancement and abscess and a right parietal subdural empyema. Infectious vasculitis secondary to purulent meningitis has a rapidly progressive course and presents with cranial nerve palsy with involvement of the cavernous sinus. Although the association of this disease with pregnancy has not been established, it should be recognized that the early imaging studies may be negative or discordant and follow-up imaging might be necessary.
authors.affiliation: Department of Diagnostic Radiology, University of Chicago, MC-2026, 5841 South Maryland Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637-1470, USA.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cihangiroglu
authors.forename: F W
authors.initials: FW
authors.lastname: Hartker
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mojtahadi
authors.forename: R G
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Ramsey
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000792:Angiography; D001922:Brain Abscess / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000382:microbiology*; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D016920:Meningitis, Bacterial / Q000150:complications; D011247:Pregnancy; D011251:Pregnancy Complications, Infectious / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000382:microbiology*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D020293:Vasculitis, Central Nervous System / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000382:microbiology*