Not All Patients with Hemiplegia Need Alteplase: A Case of Hemiplegic Migraine.

ABSTRACT

Hemiplegic migraine (HM) is a rare type of migraine which presents with motor and sensory impairment like a cerebrovascular accident (CVA). We present a case of a 36-year-old female, with a prior CVA treated with alteplase, who presented to the emergency department with stroke-like symptoms with a duration of 1 hour. The NIH Stroke Scale score was 22 at presentation. The patient received alteplase under the supervision of a neurologist after head CT confirmed no bleed. Further work-up revealed no acute or remote ischaemia or infarction. This case demonstrates the importance of a thorough history, intercommunication between health systems and integrated Electronic Medical Records (EMR) for early diagnosis and management of HM. LEARNING POINTS Hemiplegic migraine (HM) is difficult to diagnose and can mimic stroke, resulting in administration of dangerous medications such as thrombolytics/alteplase.A thorough history, intercommunication between health systems and integrated EMR are essential for early diagnosis and management of HM.