Whippets abuse, prevalent among recreational drug users, poses significant health risks, particularly through the inactivation of vitamin B12 by nitrous oxide (NO). This deficiency can lead to myelopathy, resulting in serious neurological complications. We present two female patients, aged 22 and 35, with a history of regular whippet use over the past three years, who exhibited clinical symptoms of myelopathy, including motor weakness, rigidity, sensory changes, and gait abnormalities.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFStrokes are a major cause of morbidity and mortality across the globe. An ischemic stroke of thalamic origin should be considered if a patient presents with a set of non-localizing symptoms such as speech issues, sensory abnormalities, chorea-like movements, ataxia and confusion that cannot be explained by a single lesion. A 78-year-old female with a past medical history of hypertension and smoking developed right-hand numbness and ataxia that progressively worsened to numbness of the entire right side of the body and right-arm hemiballismus.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe report a case of a 51-year-old female who presented to the emergency department with stroke symptoms within the time window for intravenous (IV) thrombolytic therapy. Her initial CT head imaging showed no evidence of acute changes and her CT perfusion demonstrated an area of ischemia in the left parieto-occipital region. While she had no absolute contraindications for IV tenecteplase (TNK), she was actively menstruating at the time, which could represent a relative contraindication due to increased bleeding risk from a site that would not be easily compressible.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe incidence of stroke in young individuals has been showing an increasing trend. In such cases, atypical mechanisms of stroke should be considered. Here, we report a case of a 37-year-old healthy female who presented with complaints of right-sided ataxia and clumsiness that started after an amusement park ride where she was swung rapidly.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis is a case report of an 83-year-old female who presented to the emergency department within eight hours of symptom onset. A CT angiogram revealed a distal basilar artery occlusion, as well as a perfusion deficit in the right superior cerebellar artery. Her symptoms fluctuated, and she was started on a heparin drip, but later in the evening her symptoms worsened.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Stroke is the third leading cause of death and the major cause of long-term disability in the United States. Timely recognition of symptoms is critical. Family members are crucial in recognizing stroke symptoms since <5% patients can call Emergency Medical Services themselves due to inability to speak or dial the phone.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Family Med Prim Care
October 2020
Hemifacial spasm (HFS) is characterized by involuntary synchronous contractions or spasms of one side of the face, usually beginning around the eye. They are typically brief, irregular clonic movements but are occasionally tonic. We present a case of a 41-year-old female who presented to the neurology clinic with complaints of recurrent right facial spasms.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInfarction or ischemia of the spinal cord is a rare entity and is often misdiagnosed as inflammatory myelopathy in acute settings. Atherosclerotic disease can affect spinal arteries, leading to cord ischemia with clinical presentation mixed with myelopathy. We present a case of a 66-year-old male who came to the hospital with unsteady gait and numbness of all extremities without associated pain for the past 48 hours.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThyrotoxicosis-induced cardiomyopathy and cardiogenic shock (CS) can lead to sudden mortality in adults. Hemodynamic instability and collapse occur due to functional alterations in both peripheral circulation and myocardium. Thyroid storm (TS) increases preload and decreases afterload along with an increase in cardiac contractility and heart rate leading to high output acute failure.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe past 15 years have witnessed significant strides in the management of acute stroke. The most significant advance, reperfusion therapy, has changed relatively little, but the integrated healthcare systems-stroke systems-established to effectively and safely administer stroke treatments have evolved greatly. Driving change is the understanding that "time is brain.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF