BMJ case reports
-
Case Reports
Hunting mimics and chameleons: diagnostic difficulties in atypical acute ischaemic stroke.
The seemingly straightforward diagnosis of acute ischaemic stroke can be complicated by the presence of conditions presenting similarly to stroke, and atypical strokes presenting with confusing and non-classical signs. We present a diagnostic quest to disentangle the effects of a number of stroke mimics from those of an underlying bilateral cerebrovascular phenomena, where with appropriate treatment of the non-stroke conditions the patient was able to make a near complete neurological recovery.
-
There are many causes for the paralysis of the external sciatic popliteal nerve , such as the intraneural ganglion cyst. In this case, we evaluate a 52-year-old woman with no relevant personal record, who was admitted with paresis of the right foot of 4 months of evolution associated with alterations in the sensitivity that rose up to the posterolateral region of the leg. The diagnosis was based on MR and cyst decompression and disconnection of the articular branch. ⋯ The most widely accepted theory is the unifying articular theory described by Spinner in the year 2003. Intraneural ganglion cysts must be included in the differential diagnosis of progressive paralysis of the sciatic nerve, lesions of the nerve root at L5 and nerve sheath tumours that start at the lateral compartment of the knee. The treatment of a fibular intraneural ganglion cyst must be surgical and the operation must be performed as soon as possible.