scholarly journals Atraumatic Vertebral Artery Dissection in a Patient With a Migraine Headache

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael L Lloyd ◽  
Samuel Billingslea ◽  
Richard Slama

ABSTRACT This case discusses a 34-year-old active duty male who presented to the emergency department with a 2-week persistent headache. His initial review of symptoms was reassuring until a detailed neurologic examination on his second visit revealed a visual deficit in the left upper quadrant. Additionally, he complained of intermittent tension headaches for the last several years but had no history of diagnosed migraines until he was seen 4 days prior for empiric migraine therapy in the same emergency department and left without improvement in symptoms. On his return visit, computerized tomography scan with intravenous contrast revealed a left vertebral artery dissection and hematoma. The patient was admitted for medical management and subsequently found to have suffered a small infarction of right lingual gyrus cortex on magnetic resonance imaging. This case illustrates the importance of maintaining a broad differential diagnosis and high index of suspicion in the patient with new focal neurologic findings in order to diagnose a potentially fatal disease.

CJEM ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 10 (05) ◽  
pp. 485-487
Author(s):  
Glen Jickling ◽  
Kelvin Leung ◽  
Kenman Gan ◽  
Ashfaq Shuaib ◽  
James Lewis ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT A 21-year-old woman presented to the emergency department 1 day after a fall. On the day of presentation, she awoke with horizontal diplopia and posterior neck pain. Based on clinical findings, she was diagnosed with bilateral internuclear ophthalmoplegia. A conventional angiogram identified a left vertebral artery dissection. She was started on anticoagulant therapy, with gradual improvement of her diplopia over several months. Diplopia is frequently seen in the emergency department. Internuclear ophthalmoplegia is a cause of binocular diplopia and is important to recognize because it indicates a brainstem lesion requiring neurologic evaluation.


2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-5
Author(s):  
Katleen Devue ◽  
Annemie Van Ingelgem ◽  
Katrien De Keukeleire ◽  
Marc De Leeuw

This paper presents the case report of an 11-year-old boy with an acute dissection with thrombosis of the left vertebral artery and thrombosis of the basilar artery. The patient was treated with acute systemic thrombolysis, followed by intra-arterial thrombolysis, without any clinical improvement, showing left hemiplegia, bilateral clonus, hyperreflexia, and impaired consciousness. MRI indicated persistent thrombosis of the arteria basilaris with edema and ischemia of the right brainstem. Heparinization for 72 hours, followed by a two-week LMWH treatment and subsequent oral warfarin therapy, resulted in a lasting improvement of the symptoms. Vertebral artery dissection after minor trauma is rare in children. While acute basilar artery occlusion as a complication is even more infrequent, it is potentially fatal, which means that prompt diagnosis and treatment are imperative. The lack of class I recommendation guidelines for children regarding treatment of vertebral artery dissection and basilar artery occlusion means that initial and follow-up management both require a multidisciplinary approach to coordinate emergency, critical care, interventional radiology, and child neurology services.


2019 ◽  
Vol 46 (Suppl_1) ◽  
pp. V13
Author(s):  
Jacob Cherian ◽  
Thomas P. Madaelil ◽  
Frank Tong ◽  
Brian M. Howard ◽  
C. Michael Cawley ◽  
...  

The video highlights a challenging case of bilateral vertebral artery dissection presenting with subarachnoid hemorrhage. The patient was found to have a critical flow-limiting stenosis in his dominant right vertebral artery and a ruptured pseudoaneurysm in his left vertebral artery. A single-stage endovascular treatment with stent reconstruction of the right vertebral artery and coil embolization sacrifice of the left side was performed. The case highlights the rationale for treatment and potential alternative strategies.The video can be found here: https://youtu.be/e0U_JE2jISw.


2019 ◽  
Vol 08 (04) ◽  
pp. 233-237
Author(s):  
Binh Phung ◽  
Trusha Shah

AbstractVertebral artery dissection (VAD) followed by basilar artery occlusion/stroke (BAO/BAS) is a rare but potentially life-threatening complication. We present a case report of a 7-year-old boy with VAD complicated by BAO/BAS 4 days after falling off a scooter. Symptoms included left-sided weakness and facial droop preceded by a 20-minute episode of altered sensorium. Magnetic resonance imaging showed ischemic changes in the left posterior inferior cerebellum and right pons. Computed tomography angiogram confirmed dissection of the left vertebral artery with occlusion/thrombosis of the basilar artery. Heparinization for 96 hours, followed by 6 months of low-molecular weight heparin injection, resulted in improvement of his neurological symptoms.


2020 ◽  
Vol 86 (5) ◽  
pp. 531-533
Author(s):  
Jared Griffard ◽  
Reagan Bollig

Spinal column injuries are very commonly diagnosed in the multitrauma population, and extensive distraction injuries are often fatal due to cerebrovascular injuries or spinal cord injuries. We present a 62-year-old female who presented after an MVC with a 2-cm vertical distraction injury of C5-6 with a right vertebral artery transection and left vertebral artery dissection. She received multidisciplinary treatment which resulted in her survival, albeit with severe neurologic deficits. We challenge the current literature that suggests a blunt vertebral artery transection is 100% fatal.


2019 ◽  
Vol 59 (4) ◽  
pp. 154-161 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenichi ARIYADA ◽  
Keita SHIBAHASHI ◽  
Hidenori HODA ◽  
Shinta WATANABE ◽  
Masahiro NISHIDA ◽  
...  

2015 ◽  
Vol 2015 ◽  
pp. 1-3
Author(s):  
Vineet Gupta ◽  
Naveen Dhawan ◽  
Jaya Bahl

A 17-year-old Caucasian male presented with sudden dizziness, ataxia, vertigo, and clumsiness lasting for a couple of hours. He had a subtle trauma during a wrestling match 2 days prior to the presentation. A CT Angiogram (CTA) and MRI showed left vertebral artery dissection (VAD). The patient was treated with anticoagulation with heparin drip in the ICU. The patient was discharged home on the third day on Lovenox-warfarin bridging. This case underscores the importance of considering VAD as a differential diagnosis in patients with sports-related symptoms especially in activities entailing hyperextension or hyperrotation of neck. Due to a varied latent period, often minor underlying trauma, and subtle presentation, a low index of suspicion is warranted in timely diagnosis and treatment of VAD. Considering recent evidence in treatment modality, either antiplatelet therapy or anticoagulation may be used for treatment of VAD.


Neurosurgery ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 68 (3) ◽  
pp. E835-E839 ◽  
Author(s):  
James S Waldron ◽  
Michael C Oh ◽  
Dean Chou

Abstract BACKGROUND AND IMPORTANCE: We report a patient with lumbar subdural hematoma secondary to intracranial subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) presenting with bilateral foot drop and describe our management. CLINICAL PRESENTATION: A 37-year-old woman presented with grade 4 SAH and hydrocephalus requiring emergent external ventricular drainage. Angiography demonstrated a left vertebral artery dissection and pseudoaneurysm that was treated with embolization of the vertebral artery. Six days after admission, her neurologic examination significantly improved. She was awake, alert, following commands, and moving all her extremities normally except for bilateral foot drop. An MRI scan revealed a lumbar subdural hematoma with severe thecal sac compression at L4-S1. The patient was initially treated with expectant management followed by surgery after she demonstrated only modest improvement. Evacuation of the hematoma was undertaken by an L5-S1 laminectomy and drainage of the liquefied clot in the subdural, extra-arachnoid space. Postoperatively, the patient demonstrated improved strength in all muscle groups except for left lower extremity eversion. CONCLUSION: We present a case of subdural hematoma that caused bilateral foot drop. Neurologic improvement occured after evacuation of the hematoma.


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