1/7. Spontaneous spinal epidural haematoma: report of two cases and review of the literature.The clinical presentation, investigation, management and outcome of two patients with spontaneous spinal epidural haematoma (SSEH) are presented. CT myelogram revealed an extradural compressive lesion in one patient and MRI confirmed extradural haemorrhage in the second. Both the cases were treated surgically. One patient made a complete recovery and the other made no neurological recovery. The clinical presentation, diagnosis, treatment and factors determining the outcome of SSEH are discussed and the literature reviewed.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = haemorrhage (Clic here for more details about this article) |
2/7. Epidural haemorrhage of the cervical spinal cord: a post-mortem artefact?Spinal epidural haemorrhage is a rare entity that occurs uncommonly in adults and rarely in children. It has a typical clinical presentation, although to date, the cause for the majority of cases remains unknown. We present a series of cases where epidural haemorrhage was identified at post-mortem, principly to the cervical cord, in cases outside the age range usually reported for clinical epidural haemorrhage, and with no underlying pathology to account for the finding. We present a hypothesis for a post-mortem cause for this finding and consider that, in the absence of any other identifiable causation, then this is a post-mortem occurrence similar to that of the Prinsloo-Gordon artefact of the soft tissues of the neck. This finding must be interpreted with care so as not to make the mistaken diagnosis of a nonaccidental head injury based on its finding, especially in the absence of intracranial, cranial nerve, optic nerve or eye pathologies.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 7keywords = haemorrhage (Clic here for more details about this article) |
3/7. Spinal epidural haematoma mimicking spontaneous subarachnoid haemorrhage.Spinal epidural haematoma is increasingly picked up using magnetic resonance imaging, especially following trauma. The presentation can be varied especially if there is a trivial history of trauma. Spontaneous subarachnoid haemorrhage can occur in spinal haematoma as a rare and unusual presentation and can be easily misdiagnosed. The key to early diagnosis is a strong suspicion and careful repeated neurological examination. We present an illustrative case.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 5keywords = haemorrhage (Clic here for more details about this article) |
4/7. Spinal epidural haematoma after blunt trauma to the neck and hyperflection of the cervical spine.Spinal epidural haematomas (sEDH) can be regarded as rare events, in principle a spontaneous and a traumatic aetiology can be distinguished. Spontaneous spinal epidural haematomas can arise, e.g. from vascular malformations, coagulopathies, etc. On the other hand, traumatic sEDH are related to, e.g. spinal trauma or intraoperative vascular injuries. With regard to clinical significance, spinal epidural haematomas accompanied by transient mild neurological symptoms up to lethal outcomes have been observed. We report on a 53-year-old male alcoholic who was found in the kitchen of his asylum in a grotesquely fixed body position, with his head and cervical spine in a maximum anteflected position. A general practitioner had ruled for a non-natural manner of death due to "broken neck" and alcohol intoxication, therefore, the prosecution authorities called for a medicolegal autopsy. At autopsy, paravertebral soft tissue haemorrhage in between the shoulder blades was disclosed. Furthermore, a spinal epidural haematoma, extending from the foramen magnum down to the middle portion of the thoracic spine was found. No fractures of vertebrae nor lesions of spine ligaments or bleedings of intervertebral discs were found. blood alcohol concentration was determined 1.92 g/l and urine alcohol concentration was 1.76 g/l. Further morphological findings were cerebral oedema and cardiac hypertrophy; the urinary bladder was found filled to bursting. Neuropathological investigations confirmed the presence of the spinal epidural haematoma and assigned lethal significance to this finding. There were no histological signs of axonal injury. Reconstruction revealed that when sitting on a chair in a drunk condition, the individual's upper part of the body had fallen backwards in the corner and subsequently got stuck with maximum anteflection of the head and cervical spine, causing rupture of vessels and spinal epidural haematoma. Acute respiratory failure caused by impairment of the phrenic nerve following spinal epidural haematoma with potential synergism of alcohol intoxication was ascertained as the cause of death.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1.0039740129455keywords = haemorrhage, cerebral (Clic here for more details about this article) |
5/7. Acute spontaneous cervical spinal epidural hematoma with hemiparesis as the initial presentation.Acute onset of hemiparesis is a common initial presentation of cerebral vascular accidents, but many differential diagnoses should be considered. Hemiparesis results from an upper motor neuron lesion above the midcervical spinal cord, and the absence of cranial nerve signs or facial palsy suggests a lesion in the high cervical spinal cord. Most spinal cord lesions, however, result in quadriparesis or paraparesis, but not hemiparesis. We present a rare case of acute spontaneous cervical spinal epidural hematoma, with initial presentation of right hemiparesis and mild neck pain.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.0039740129455062keywords = cerebral (Clic here for more details about this article) |
6/7. Gastric carcinoma presenting with extensive bone metastases and marrow infiltration causing extradural spinal haemorrhage.Gastric carcinoma is the third most common gastrointestinal (GI) malignancy after colon and pancreatic carcinoma. A Japanese study showed that the incidence of bone metastases of gastric cancer was 13.4% among autopsies. It is very rare for the primary presentation of a gastric malignancy to be with bone metastases. This case report is of a 46-year-old female patient, who presented with a thoracic vertebral wedge fracture and was subsequently found to have widespread vertebral metastatic deposits with marrow infiltration. The infiltration and suppression of marrow function was complicated by an acute bleed into the extradural space causing spinal cord compression. This case demonstrates two important features. First, that gastric cancer, although far less common than breast, kidney, thyroid, prostate and bronchial cancer, is a cause of metastases to bone. Second, it highlights the complications of bone metastases, marrow suppression, leukoerythroblastic anaemia, spinal canal haematoma and cord compression. The case is illustrated by axial and sagittal MRI slices.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 4keywords = haemorrhage (Clic here for more details about this article) |
7/7. Epidermal nevus syndrome and intraspinal hemorrhage.The epidermal nevus syndrome (ENS) is a rare neurocutaneous disease characterized by extensive epidermal nevi and a wide variety of abnormalities involving brain, eyes, and skeleton. Neurological symptoms in ENS include seizures, paresis, and mental retardation and are usually ascribed to hemimegalencephaly and various migration disorders. It was suggested that in some patients neurological symptoms might be secondary to vascular abnormalities. We report a case of a patient with diagnosed ENS without any primary CNS lesions, who developed paraplegia resulting from spinal cord hemorrhage. The patient presented many vascular and skeletal anomalies.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 6.6478079803719E-5keywords = brain (Clic here for more details about this article) |