Subdural effusion with hydrocephalus in dentatorubral-pallidoluysian atrophy: A case report.
Hisashi Takahashi, Shunki Yamaguchi, Kengo Tsuji et al.
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Case in brief
A 56-year-old woman with dentatorubral-pallidoluysian atrophy (DRPLA) presented with progressively impaired consciousness. Head CT showed bilateral subdural effusions compressing the cerebral hemispheres. As the effusions enlarged despite conservative management, burr-hole drainage was performed. Marked hydrocephalus then developed, and the patient had a poor neurological outcome. The authors proposed that repeated head injuries and periventricular parenchymal damage associated with DRPLA may have contributed to the subdural effusion with hydrocephalus (SDEH).
What made this case unusual
SDEH is usually associated with severe head injury or neurosurgical procedures; this case describes it in a patient with DRPLA, a neurodegenerative disorder.
Diagnostic / clinical pearl
In a patient with DRPLA and subdural effusions, consider SDEH as a potential complication, including when hydrocephalus emerges after drainage.