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Cortical subarachnoid hemorrhage associated with reversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndrome after elective triplet cesarean delivery

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Abstract

Reversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndromes (RCVS) comprise a group of disorders characterized by prolonged, but reversible vasoconstriction of the cerebral arteries, usually associated with acute-onset, severe, recurrent headaches, with or without additional neurological signs and symptoms. Various complications of this condition have been observed, such as cortical subarachnoid hemorrhages (cSAH), intracerebral hemorrhages, reversible posterior leukoencephalopathy, ischaemic strokes and transient ischaemic attacks. It is important to include RCVS in thunderclap headache differential diagnosis and among non-aneurismatic subarachnoid hemorrhage causes. In the past years, thanks to the major diffusion of new diagnostic tools such as magnetic resonance, computed tomography and digital subtraction angiography, RCVS have been demonstrated to be more frequent than previously thought. We report an illustrative case of a woman affected by a small cSAH, associated to RCVS, after elective triplet cesarean delivery. To our knowledge, this is the first case of cSAH associated to RCVS after a triplet pregnancy.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neuroscience, Ophthalmology and Genetics, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy

    Beatrice Albano, Carlo Gandolfo & Alberto Primavera

  2. Stroke Unit, Humanitas Clinical Institute, Via Manzoni 56, 20089, Rozzano, MI, Italy

    Beatrice Albano

  3. Department of Neurology, S. Andrea Hospital, La Spezia, Italy

    Massimo Del Sette

  4. MRI Center for Research in Neurological Disorders, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy

    Luca Roccatagliata

Authors
  1. Beatrice Albano
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  2. Massimo Del Sette
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  3. Luca Roccatagliata
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  4. Carlo Gandolfo
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  5. Alberto Primavera
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Correspondence to Beatrice Albano.

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Albano, B., Del Sette, M., Roccatagliata, L. et al. Cortical subarachnoid hemorrhage associated with reversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndrome after elective triplet cesarean delivery. Neurol Sci 32, 497–501 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10072-011-0505-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10072-011-0505-8

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