Cerebral hemorrhage due to autonomic dysreflexia in a spinal cord injury patient.

STUDY

DESIGN

Case report.

OBJECTIVE

To report an uncommon case of cerebral hemorrhage due to autonomic dysreflexia (AD) in a spinal cord injury (SCI) patient.

SETTING

Institut Guttmann, Neurorehabilitation Hospital in Barcelona, Spain.

CASE REPORT: An SCI patient developed AD due to urinary tract infection after surgery for a pressure sore. The hypertension was difficult to control and the case progressed to hypertensive encephalopathy. MRI of the brain was performed showing a hemorrhagic lesion on the left occipital area. The hypertension was finally controlled and the neurological status improved although with some cognitive deficits.

CONCLUSION

This is an uncommon case of cerebral hemorrhage due to AD, showing the importance of an adequate diagnosis and treatment of AD to avoid this life-threatening complication.