title: Acute subdural effusion in vasculitis.
abstract: We report a 29-year-old man with a unique presentation of vasculitis as acute unilateral subdural effusion and meningoencephalitis. Magnetic resonance imaging showed a brainstem lesion that spread to the thalamus over time. There were no systemic features of vasculitis other than a positive pathergy test. Histopathological examination from the pathergy site showed neutrophilic infiltrate and leucocytoclastic vasculitis. The condition was steroid responsive and he remained in remission at two years' follow-up. The anatomy of the brainstem lesion, absence of other inflammatory and infective conditions on evaluation suggests a vasculitic pathology either as primary central nervous system angiitis or as neurological presentation of systemic vasculitis like Behetaet's disease although the international diagnostic criteria for Behetaet's were not fulfilled.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology,Trivandrum, Kerala, India.
authors.forename: Seetharam
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Raghavendra
authors.forename: Vidya Madavana Venugopal
authors.initials: VM
authors.lastname: Kamath
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sarada
authors.forename: Ashalatha
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Radhakrishnan
authors.forename: Chandrasekharan
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kesavadas
authors.forename: Thamburaj
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Krishnamoorthy
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001933:Brain Stem / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D013353:Subdural Effusion / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods; D014657:Vasculitis / Q000150:complications*