Magnetic resonance imaging findings in a case of stroke-related peduncular hallucinosis.

BACKGROUND

Peduncular hallucinosis is a rare stroke-related phenomenon that may occur in cases of ischemic lesions localized in the cerebral peduncles, the pons, the upper midbrain or the thalamus and is mostly characterized by transient visual hallucinations.

CASE PRESENTATION: We report the case of an insufficiently treated hypertensive patient who presented with constantly elevated blood pressure values and persistent visual hallucinations, which ceased a few hours later after medically achieved blood pressure normalization. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed a symmetric paramedian ischemic lesion of the upper pons, which seems to be the cause of this case of peduncular hallucinosis.

CONCLUSION

Although uncommon, this entity needs to be differential diagnostically considered in cases of transient visual hallucinations in persons with known vascular risk profile. MRI can be a useful diagnostic tool.