Severe delayed diffuse cerebral vasospasm and cerebral infarctions following spinal subdural hemorrhage.
BACKGROUND
We report a rare case of severe delayed cerebral vasospasm with cerebral infarctions after spinal subdural hemorrhage.


METHODS
A 56-year-old woman presented with an acute onset of paraplegia. MR-imaging revealed an extensive intraspinal hemorrhage reaching from T1 to L1. The hematoma was evacuated via a T8-laminectomy. At the 7th postoperative day the patient developed visual disturbances. MR-scanning revealed extensive infarctions and cerebral angiography showed severe diffuse vasospasms.


CONCLUSIONS
This case demonstrates that cerebral vasospasm may be caused by a spinal subdural hemorrhage, supporting the hypothesis that cerebral vasospasm may be triggered by factors from a remote site and that a direct contact of blood clots with the vessel is not mandatory.
Setzer
M
M
Department of Neurosurgery, Johann Wolfgang Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main, Germany. Matthias.Setzer@kgu.de
Weidauer
S
S
Zimmermann
M
M
Berkefeld
J
J
Seifert
V
V
Raabe
A
A
D002544:Cerebral Infarction / Q000209:etiology*; D005260:Female; D006408:Hematoma, Subdural / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D013997:Time Factors; D020301:Vasospasm, Intracranial / Q000209:etiology*