Date of Presentation
5-6-2021 12:00 AM
College
School of Osteopathic Medicine
Poster Abstract
When most clinicians think of subarachnoid hemorrhages (SAH), they think of “most severe headache of my life” as the most common chief complaint. However, it is only reported in about 70% of patients with SAH. Other symptoms may include nausea and/or vomiting, stiff neck, visual disturbances, loss of consciousness, weakness, and seizures. Patient history may involve previous SAH, hypertension, oral contraceptives in women, recent trauma, family history of intracranial aneurysms, history of smoking, alcohol, and drug use. However, there are atypical causes of SAH that may be missed upon initial evaluation for patients that may not have the above mentioned symptoms or risk factors. When evaluating the patient with a neurological complaint that does not fall in the category of peripheral nervous system distribution, it is worth considering outliers that may be related to the central nervous system, such as a SAH. Working up such differentials leads to proper disposition of the patient population and decreases the possibility of long-term complications or mistreatment.
Keywords
Subarachnoid Hemorrhage, cerebrovascular disorders
Disciplines
Cardiovascular Diseases | Medicine and Health Sciences | Nervous System Diseases | Neurology | Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms
Document Type
Poster
Included in
Cardiovascular Diseases Commons, Nervous System Diseases Commons, Neurology Commons, Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms Commons
Atypical Presentation of Non-Aneurysmal Subarachnoid Hemorrhage
When most clinicians think of subarachnoid hemorrhages (SAH), they think of “most severe headache of my life” as the most common chief complaint. However, it is only reported in about 70% of patients with SAH. Other symptoms may include nausea and/or vomiting, stiff neck, visual disturbances, loss of consciousness, weakness, and seizures. Patient history may involve previous SAH, hypertension, oral contraceptives in women, recent trauma, family history of intracranial aneurysms, history of smoking, alcohol, and drug use. However, there are atypical causes of SAH that may be missed upon initial evaluation for patients that may not have the above mentioned symptoms or risk factors. When evaluating the patient with a neurological complaint that does not fall in the category of peripheral nervous system distribution, it is worth considering outliers that may be related to the central nervous system, such as a SAH. Working up such differentials leads to proper disposition of the patient population and decreases the possibility of long-term complications or mistreatment.