Ischemic stroke secondary to radiation-induced carotid artery stenosis.

INTRODUCTION: Large vessel vasculopathy, such as carotid stenosis, has been shown to be a side effect of radiotherapy (RT) and has received increasing attention especially in recent decades with the improvement of RT technology. These injuries can lead to a higher risk of cerebrovascular events such as ischemic stroke. The management of these lesions may be performed with surgical repair but also with endovascular technique. OBSERVATION: A 61-year-old man was admitted to the emergency department for an acute ischemic stroke. He was treated 16years prior for laryngeal tumor for which he had received 23 sessions of radiation therapy at the dose of 60Gy per session. The CT scan showed a radiation-induced stenosis of the right internal carotid artery with thrombosis of the right anterior cerebral artery and the right middle cerebral artery. The patient was treated with angioplasty of the right internal carotid artery with good outcome. CONCLUSION: Radiation-induced vasculopathy of the carotid artery has gained relevance in patients with head and neck neoplasms. These vascular lesions are associated with the risk of late cerebrovascular events.

Management of a recurrent stroke due to a carotid web.

Carotid web is a rare intraluminal parietal protrusion in the carotid artery. This vascular anomaly mostly occurs at the bifurcation causing turbulent flow, and is responsible of thrombi formation associated with embolic ischemic events. We report the case of a 35-year-old woman, with no medical history, who presented a recurrent middle cerebral artery (MCA) occlusion within twelve hours caused by a carotid bulb web. Although considered as a rare entity, carotid web is associated with the risk of recurrent strokes in the MCA territory and especially in the absence of the typically recognized risk factors. The key imaging is the CT angiography that shows the web, the cerebral artery occlusion, and the outcome appreciation. Therapeutic strategy associates antithrombotic treatment and operative management with stenting of the carotid web or endarterectomy.

[Cerebral venous thrombosis: Clinical and radiological features, about 62 cases]. / La thrombose veineuse cérébrale : aspects clinico-radiologiques, à propos d'une série de 62 cas.

The work's purpose is to make a general review on the various clinical-radiological aspects and the management of cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT) in our hospital and compare them to those described in the literature. MATERIAL AND METHOD: Our series included 62 patients aged over 18 years, collected over 7 years (2009-2016) in the radiology department of the CHU Hassan II of Fez (Morocco), in which the radiological diagnosis of TVC was retained. Our patients have benefited from a brain CT scan and brain MRI. Clinical and radiological characteristics and post-treatment progression were described. RESULTS: The average age was 35 years with a female predominance; sex ratio 3.76 (49F/13H). The symptomatology was non-specific, made mainly of headaches, comic crises, disturbances of consciousness and focal signs. The upper longitudinal sinus was dominant topography (51.61%). The etiological factors were varied: infectious (sinusitis, chronic otitis media, oto-mastoiditis, bacterial meningitis, and septicemia), gyneco-obstetrical (oral contraception, pregnancy, and postpartum), systemic (Behçet diseases, polycythemia of Vaquez, paraneoplastic syndrome, antiphospholipid syndrome), local (head trauma), undetermined etiological factors. The CT scan, but especially the cerebral MRI, made it possible to make the diagnosis but also to direct towards the etiology. CONCLUSION: Cerebral MRI is currently the best imaging in the diagnosis of CTV, allowing an accurate assessment of its location, extent and impact on the cerebral parenchyma. Multiple conditions are responsible for CTVs. Therapeutic management is based on heparinotherapy and etiological treatment.

Retroperitoneal Paraganglioma-Induced Cardiogenic Shock Rescued by Preoperative Arterial Embolization.

BACKGROUND: Catecholamine-induced cardiogenic shock is a rare manifestation of paragangliomas. The high mortality rate of this condition makes the immediate, multidisciplinary approach mandatory. CASE REPORT: We report a case of an 18-year-old woman with a retroperitoneal secreting paraganglioma, complicated with a cardiogenic shock and an acute adrenergic myocarditis, requiring hemodynamic support and emergency arterial embolization prior to surgical excision, with a favorable outcome. CONCLUSION: Paraganglioma-induced myocarditis is rare but can be dramatic. Management requires appropriate and immediate hemodynamic support. Embolization may be an alternative to stabilize the patient prior to surgery.