Man with headache and altered mental status.
Christiana K PrucnalPaul S JanssonPublished in: Emergency medicine journal : EMJ (2021)
PresentationAn 83-year-old man presented for headache and altered mental status. Four days prior, he underwent endoscopic sinus surgery for nasal polyps. Over the two previous days, he gradually developed a headache and was brought to the emergency department when his wife noted mild confusion and generalised weakness. His examination was notable for a heart rate of 101 beats per minute, clear nasal discharge, meningismus and confusion to the date with generalised weakness. A lumbar puncture revealed cloudy cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) with a white blood cell count of 3519x10ˆ9/L (95% neutrophils). A CT scan of the head was obtained (figure 1).emermed;38/7/519/F1F1F1Figure 1Non-contrast CT scan of the head in axial plane. QUESTION: What is the appropriate next step in management?Obtain MRI of the brain to localise ischaemic damage.Administer broad-spectrum antibiotics, including pseudomonal coverage.Consult otolaryngology to arrange functional endoscopic sinus surgery for CSF leak closure.Consult neurosurgery for surgical decompression of mass lesion(s).
Keyphrases
- minimally invasive
- contrast enhanced
- heart rate
- computed tomography
- cerebrospinal fluid
- dual energy
- ultrasound guided
- emergency department
- chronic rhinosinusitis
- magnetic resonance imaging
- heart rate variability
- coronary artery bypass
- single cell
- image quality
- blood pressure
- mental health
- positron emission tomography
- magnetic resonance
- optic nerve
- surgical site infection
- oxidative stress
- white matter
- diffusion weighted imaging
- multiple sclerosis
- resting state
- endoscopic submucosal dissection
- mesenchymal stem cells
- percutaneous coronary intervention
- functional connectivity
- bone marrow
- atrial fibrillation
- acute coronary syndrome
- adverse drug