Published in:
Open Access 01-12-2020 | Magnetic Resonance Imaging | Case report
Intracranial hypertension due to spinal cord tumor misdiagnosed as pseudotumor cerebri syndrome: case report
Published in: BMC Neurology | Issue 1/2020
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Background
Isolated onset of intracranial hypertension due to spinal cord tumor is rare, thus, easily leading to misdiagnosis and delay in effective treatment.
Case presentation
Herein, we describe a 45-year-old female patient who manifested isolated symptoms and signs of intracranial hypertension and whose condition was initially diagnosed as idiopathic intracranial hypertension and transverse sinus stenosis. The patient received a stent implantation; however, no improvements were observed. One year later her symptoms exacerbated, and during rehospitalization a spinal imaging examination revealed a lumbar tumor. Pathologic evaluation confirmed schwannoma, and tumor resection significantly improved her symptoms, except for poor vision.
Conclusions
Space-occupying lesions of the spine should be considered in the differential diagnosis of idiopathic intracranial hypertension, even in the absence of spine-localized signs or symptoms.