Case of the Week
Section Editors: Matylda Machnowska1 and Anvita Pauranik2
1University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
2BC Children's Hospital, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
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October 16, 2014
Pseudo-Subarachnoid Hemorrhage
- Occurs secondary to cerebral edema following resuscitation or severe head injury.
- Associated with poor prognosis
- Pathophysiology: Diffuse cerebral hypodensity of underlying edema unmasks engorged venous structures, which appear relatively hyperdense on noncontrast CT studies.
- Key Diagnostic Features:
- Diffuse hypodensity
- Loss of gray-white matter differentiation
- Effacement of sulci and appearance of increased attenuation (attenuation coefficients 25–35 HU) within cisterns and subarachnoid spaces
- DDx
- Subarachnoid hemorrhage
- Leptomeningeal disease
- Intrathecal contrast
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