Neurological Sciences

, Volume 32, Issue 3, pp 497–501 | Cite as

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

  • Beatrice Albano
  • Massimo Del Sette
  • Luca Roccatagliata
  • Carlo Gandolfo
  • Alberto Primavera
Case Report
First Online:
Received:
Accepted:

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.

Keywords

Reversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndrome Subarachnoid hemorrhage Thunderclap headache Postpartum angiopathy Postpartum Eclampsia 
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Copyright information

© Springer-Verlag 2011

Authors and Affiliations

  • Beatrice Albano
    • 1
    • 2
  • Massimo Del Sette
    • 3
  • Luca Roccatagliata
    • 4
  • Carlo Gandolfo
    • 1
  • Alberto Primavera
    • 1
  1. 1.Department of Neuroscience, Ophthalmology and GeneticsUniversity of GenoaGenoaItaly
  2. 2.Stroke UnitHumanitas Clinical InstituteRozzanoItaly
  3. 3.Department of NeurologyS. Andrea HospitalLa SpeziaItaly
  4. 4.MRI Center for Research in Neurological DisordersUniversity of GenoaGenoaItaly

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