Intracranial hypotension in the setting of concurrent perineural cyst rupture and subarachnoid hemorrhage

Abstract

Although most patients with intracranial hypotension typically present with headaches, the rest of the clinical spectrum is characteristically non-specific and often quite variable. In a patient with concurrent pathologies that can produce a similar clinical picture, a high index of suspicion must be maintained to achieve the correct diagnosis. The authors report a patient with intracranial hypotension in the setting of concurrent perineural cyst rupture and subarachnoid hemorrhage. A 63-year-old woman with a family history of ruptured intracranial aneurysms presented after a sudden thunderclap headache and was found to have diffuse subarachnoid hemorrhage. Imaging revealed anterior communicating and superior hypophyseal artery aneurysms. Following the uneventful clipping of both aneurysms, the patient experienced a delayed return to her neurological baseline. After it was noted that the patient had an improved neurological examination when she was placed supine, further investigation confirmed intracranial hypotension from perineural cyst rupture. The patient improved and returned to her neurological baseline after undergoing a high-volume blood patch and remained neurologically intact at postoperative follow-up. Although intracranial hypotension is known to be commonly associated with cerebrospinal fluid leak, its causal and temporal relationship with subarachnoid hemorrhage has yet to be elucidated.

Keywords: Aneurysm; Coma; Epidural blood patch; Intracranial hypotension; Perineural cyst; Subarachnoid hemorrhage; Tarlov cyst.