Raw salmon or red herring: ascending paralysis with suspected seafood poisoning.
A 16-year-old boy presented with rapidly progressive ascending paralysis 1 hour after eating raw salmon. Seafood poisoning was initially considered. Although salmon is not a common cause of toxic seafood poisoning, cases have been reported in the Pacific region. The patient rapidly developed acute left heart and respiratory failure, and investigations revealed a rare tracking intramedullary haematoma of the spinal cord. Structural abnormalities of the central nervous system may present with acute paralysis and spinal shock, mimicking toxicological syndromes.
Gunja
Naren
N
Emergency Department, Westmead Hospital, Sydney, NSW, Australia. Naren_Gunja@wsahs.nsw.gov.au
Dowsett
Robert P
RP
Ng
Karl
K
D000293:Adolescent; D000818:Animals; D001165:Arteriovenous Malformations / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis*; D020785:Central Nervous System Vascular Malformations / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis*; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005517:Foodborne Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010243:Paralysis / Q000209:etiology*; D012474:Salmon; D017747:Seafood / Q000506:poisoning*; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000098:blood supply*; D013904:Thoracic Vertebrae