title: Pseudo-subarachnoid hemorrhage: a potential imaging pitfall associated with diffuse cerebral edema.
abstract: We report CT findings in seven patients with diffuse cerebral edema and increased attenuation in the basilar cisterns resembling subarachnoid hemorrhage. On the basis of autopsy (three cases) and lumbar puncture (four cases) findings, true subarachnoid hemorrhage was reasonably excluded. Pathophysiologic changes that occur with diffuse cerebral edema are explored, with proposed explanations for the appearance of a pseudo-subarachnoid hemorrhage.
authors.affiliation: Departments of Neuroradiology, Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, Winston-Salem, NC, USA.
authors.forename: Curtis A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Given
authors.forename: Jonathan H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Burdette
authors.forename: Allen D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Elster
authors.forename: Daniel W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Williams
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001929:Brain Edema / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000209:etiology; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D014695:Cerebral Ventriculography; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007427:Intracranial Pressure / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013345:Subarachnoid Hemorrhage / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000209:etiology; D013346:Subarachnoid Space / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed