title: [Meningitis can resemble subarachnoid haemorrhage].
abstract: A 70 year-old man was admitted under the diagnosis of subarachnoid haemorrhage and presented with a history of ear pain, followed by acute onset of severe headache, nausea, vomiting, impaired consciousness, and fever. However, a computed tomography (CT) showed an acute mastoiditis and pneumocephalus, and a lumbar puncture confirmed the diagnosis meningitis. The increased middle ear pressure relative to the intracranial pressure had caused air and bacteria to penetrate intracerebrally. This case illustrates the importance of a rapid diagnostic workup in acute onset headache including a careful anamnesis, CT and lumbar puncture.
authors.affiliation: Neurologisk Afdeling, Herlev Hospital, Herlev Ringvej 75, 2730 Herlev, Denmark. nour059@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Nour Foad Diab
authors.initials: NF
authors.lastname: Elghoura
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008417:Mastoiditis / Q000150:complications / Q000382:microbiology / Q000601:surgery; D008586:Meningitis, Pneumococcal / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000188:drug therapy; D011007:Pneumocephalus / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000209:etiology / Q000382:microbiology; D013345:Subarachnoid Hemorrhage / Q000175:diagnosis*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents