Hanging is a common method of suicide that is being reported more frequently in many countries. Several complications including injuries to the cervical spine, neck vessels, and brain can occur after attempted suicide by hanging. There are only a few reports of brain computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging of hanging victims. The most common abnormality was diffuse cerebral edema. A subarachnoid hemorrhage is an atypical complication by suicidal hanging. We report a case of a female patient who presented to an emergency department with altered mental status after attempting suicide by incomplete hanging. The patient was diagnosed with a non-aneurysmal and non-traumatic subarachnoid hemorrhage. This case shows that spontaneous subarachnoid hemorrhage can develop due to a sudden elevation of intracranial pressure, as occurs with hanging.
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Objective Reversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndrome (RCVS) is an underestimated cause of thunderclap headache that shares many characteristics with subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). This fact makes the two easily confused by emergency physicians. This study evaluated the clinical manifestations, radiological features, and outcomes of patients with RCVS.
Methods The electronic medical records of 18 patients meeting the diagnostic criteria of RCVS at our emergency department between January 2013 and December 2014 were retrospectively reviewed.
Results The mean patient age was 50.7 years, and 80% were women. Patients with RCVS encountered physicians 4.7 times before receiving an accurate diagnosis. The mean duration of symptoms until diagnosis was 9.3 days. All but one patient experienced severe headache of 8 to 10 on a numerical rating scale. A total of 44% of patients had nausea, and 66% of patients experienced worsening of the headache while gagging, leaning forward, defecating, urinating, or having sexual intercourse. The most frequently affected vessels were the middle cerebral arteries, which demonstrated a characteristic diffuse “string of beads” appearance. Four cases were complicated by SAH.
Conclusion Patients with RCVS have a unique set of clinical and imaging features. Emergency physicians should have a high index of suspicion for this clinical entity to improve its rate of detection in patients with thunderclap headache when there is no evidence of aneurysmal SAH.
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Electrocardiogram changes in subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) have been described as ST-T changes that mimic acute coronary syndrome and even acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction. Elevation of cardiac enzymes and abnormality of regional myocardial wall motion have been reported frequently for SAH. We report a case of an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest survivor with high suspicion of ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction based on the electrocardiogram and bedside echocardiography, who had normal coronary arteries on emergent coronary angiography. The patient was ultimately diagnosed with SAH as a cause of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.
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