Elsevier

Radiology Case Reports

Volume 16, Issue 5, May 2021, Pages 1207-1210
Radiology Case Reports

Case Report
Bilateral cerebellar hemorrhagic infarcts as an early presentation following opioid-induced toxic encephalopathy in an adult patient

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.radcr.2021.02.073Get rights and content
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Abstract

In the midst of the national opioid crisis, it is necessary for emergency physicians and radiologists to be familiar with presentations of opioid-related complications. We describe a case report of a 51-year-old female who developed bilateral cerebellar hemorrhages following opioid and benzodiazepine overdose. Malignant cerebellar edema is a rare but recognized complication following opiate overdose in children or chronic heroin toxicity. However, acute cerebellar involvement is rarely reported in adults. We feel that clinicians and radiologists should keep in mind the possibility of opioid toxic encephalopathy in their differential for adults with acute bilateral cerebellar infarcts and/or hemorrhages.

Keywords

Cerebellum
Hippocampus
Leukoencephalopathy
MRI
Opioid overdose
Opioid toxicity

Abbreviations

DWI
diffusion-weighted imaging
FLAIR
fluid-attenuated inversion recovery
MRI
magnetic resonance imaging
SWI
susceptibility-weighted imaging

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