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Case Reports
. 2015 Nov 6;6(2):470.
doi: 10.2484/rcr.v6i2.470. eCollection 2011.

Pseudosubarachnoid hemorrhage in a 42-year-old male with meningitis

Gretchen Coady, Melody Brewer, Patrick Maillloux
Case Reports

Pseudosubarachnoid hemorrhage in a 42-year-old male with meningitis

Gretchen Coady et al. Radiol Case Rep. .

Abstract

Pseudosubarachnoid hemorrhage is the appearance of subarachnoid hemorrhage on CT imaging with no source of blood found on further evaluation, including lumbar puncture and autopsy. The mechanism leading to this finding is poorly understood, and clinicians should consider this finding in the right clinical setting, such as cryptococcal meningitis. We present a case of an immunocompromised patient found to have a pseudosubarachnoid hemorrhage.

Keywords: CT, computed tomography; MRI, magnetic resonance imaging.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
42-year-old male with meningitis. Noncontrast CT of the head. The two images suggest subarachnoid hemorrhage along the cisterns with effacement of the quadrigeminal cisterns. The arrows highlight the areas thought to be collections of blood.
Figure 2
Figure 2
42-year-old male with meningitis. MRI of the brain. Note marked swelling and enlargement of the cerebellum. The mass effect from the cerebellar swelling contributes to near-complete effacement of the fourth ventricle and effacement of the posterior fossa basal cisterns. The findings suggest rhomboencephalitis, given the history of meningitis and immunodeficiency.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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