Spinal cord ependymoma presenting as acute paraplegia and subarachnoid hemorrhage: a case report and review of literature

ABSTRACT

Acute paraplegia is a rare presentation for a spinal cord ependymoma. Subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) due to spinal ependymoma is also very rare. We report a 32-year-old woman who presented with acute paraplegia and typical clinical signs of SAH with normal cerebral angiography, and further diagnostic work-up revealed an spinal cord ependymoma as the source of the hemorrhage. There is evidence that some spinal cord ependymomas have intratumoral hemorrhage, but most of these bleedings occur without symptoms. We discuss the clinical and neuroradiological findings of this rare case and review the literature related to this unusual presentation.431