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Case Reports
. 2022 Dec 2;14(12):e32129.
doi: 10.7759/cureus.32129. eCollection 2022 Dec.

Airpod Sign: A Diagnostic Radiological Finding of a Rare Cerebrovascular Accident

Aiswarya Raj  1 , Paul J Alapatt  1 , Arya R  1 , Sreevidya L K  1 , Ashraf V V  1
Affiliations
Case Reports

Airpod Sign: A Diagnostic Radiological Finding of a Rare Cerebrovascular Accident

Aiswarya Raj et al. Cureus. .

Abstract

Quadriplegia or dysesthesia in all four limbs may be the initial symptom of bilateral medial medullary infarction (MMI), a very rare cerebrovascular accident with a dismal prognosis. Clinical diagnosis of bilateral MMI is still challenging and can be confirmed by diffusion-weighted (DW) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the early stage. Here, we report the case of a 60-year-old male who presented to the emergency department complaining of numbness in all four limbs. DW-MRI was used to identify brain lesions 24 hours after the symptom onset. The infarct, on axial MRI sections, showed the characteristic 'airpod sign'/heart-shaped appearance due to the morphology of the area involved in the medulla.

Keywords: bilateral medial medullary infarction; medial medullary syndrome; neuro radiology; posterior circulation stroke; stroke.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. (A) A T2-weighted image showing the characteristic heart-shaped hyperintensity/airpod sign in the medulla, contrasted with (B) a corresponding drop in the apparent diffusion coefficient
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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