A Case of Hemorrhagic Cerebral Infarction in Ulcerative Colitis

ABSTRACT

Ulcerative colitis is associated with a number of extraintestinal complications, including the infrequent occurrence of thromboembolic disease. Cerebral venous thrombosis is an extremely rare and fatal complication of ulcerative colitis. A 38-year-old woman presented with sluggish mentation and left hemiplegia. Ulcerative colitis had been diagnosed 3 years earlier by colonoscopy and biopsy, and had been controlled with a mesalazine. On admission, a brain computed tomography revealed a high density area in the right frontal lobe, and T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging demonstrated an abnormal signal in the right frontal area, suggestive of a hemorrhagic cerebral infarction. She was managed with a decompressive craniectomy and conventional treatment for ulcerative colitis.