[Spontaneous cervical epidural hematoma presenting with hemiparesis following neck extension: a case report]

Abstract

A 42-year-old woman suddenly developed weakness in her left extremities when stretching her neck two days after the onset of a nuchal pain. Because computed tomography (CT) of the brain did not show any apparent lesion, the patient had initially been treated as having a cerebral infarction until magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the cervical spine revealed a presence of a cervical epidural hematoma the next day. She was therefore transferred to our hospital, and a neurological examination showed moderate left hemiparesis, dissociated sensory loss under C6 on the right side, urinary incontinence, and left miosis and ptosis. A CT of the cervical spine demonstrated an anteriorly located left-sided epidural hematoma extending from C4 to C7. The T2-weighted MRI revealed hyperintense lesions around the gray matter on the left side that were compressed by the epidural hematoma. The patient underwent an emergent laminoplasty from C3 to C7. Although her neurological signs were consistent with Brown-Sequard syndrome, which was associated with left-sided Homer's sign, they gradually and completely subsided following surgery. The authors therefore emphasize that cervical lesions should be considered in the differential diagnosis in patients with acute onset of hemiparesis.