Paralysis Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Paralysis, including details on treatment, diagnosis, facial paralysis, sleep paralysis.

Intracerebral hemorrhage secondary to autonomic dysreflexia in a young person with incomplete C8 tetraplegia: A case report.

Pan SL, Wang YH, Lin HL, Chang CW, Wu TY, Hsieh ET

Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.

Intracerebral hemorrhage is an unusual complication of autonomic dysreflexia and can be fatal if massive bleeding occurs with brain herniation. We report the case of a man in his midthirties with incomplete tetraplegia who suffered right putaminal hemorrhage during an episode of autonomic dysreflexia. Prompt recognition and removal of the triggering factors of autonomic dysreflexia quickly brought his blood pressure under control and the patient had a favorable functional outcome after rehabilitation. A review of the literature suggests that the location of hemorrhage in autonomic dysreflexia-induced cases is similar to that in the general population. The most common triggering factors are bladder distension in men and labor induction in women. Hemorrhagic stroke can also occur in patients with incomplete spinal cord injury (SCI) who develop autonomic dysreflexia. The role of sympathetic skin response examination is also discussed. This life-threatening complication should be kept in mind in the case of people with SCI.

Published 10 March 2005 in Arch Phys Med Rehabil, 86(3): 591-3.
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