Case report: a patient with spontaneous spinal epidural hematoma recovered after conservative treatment

Spontaneous spinal epidural hematoma is a rare condition, akin to a stroke, which can manifest as hemiplegia. It cannot be diagnosed by head CT scan and is prone to misdiagnosis as a cerebral stroke, potentially leading to the activation of thrombolysis and exacerbation of the condition. This paper...

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Main Authors: Jingge Cheng, Bo Li, Shuaiye Liu, Yiming Liu, Yipeng Zhao
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2025-02-01
Series:Frontiers in Medicine
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Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmed.2025.1509903/full
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author Jingge Cheng
Bo Li
Shuaiye Liu
Yiming Liu
Yipeng Zhao
author_facet Jingge Cheng
Bo Li
Shuaiye Liu
Yiming Liu
Yipeng Zhao
author_sort Jingge Cheng
collection DOAJ
description Spontaneous spinal epidural hematoma is a rare condition, akin to a stroke, which can manifest as hemiplegia. It cannot be diagnosed by head CT scan and is prone to misdiagnosis as a cerebral stroke, potentially leading to the activation of thrombolysis and exacerbation of the condition. This paper reports a case of a patient with this disease, a 68 years-old male who presented with sudden neck pain weakness, and numbness in the left limbs for 2 h. The symptoms were similar to those of a stroke. A head CT scan showed no significant abnormalities, but the clinical presentation of neck pain alerted the physician, who did not hastily administer thrombolysis. Instead, they quickly performed further examinations, including neck vessel ultrasound and neck CT/MRI, to rule out a cerebral stroke. The patient was ultimately diagnosed with spontaneous spinal epidural hematoma in the neck. The patient was transferred to the ICU for conservative treatment, and a follow-up neck MRI the next day revealed a significant reduction in the hematoma, with a corresponding improvement in clinical symptoms. This case report supports the diagnostic value of CT scans for spinal epidural hematoma and shares a conservative treatment plan for patients with high spinal cord lesions.
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spelling doaj-art-9cba163a76f64718b0900bd63fb392d02025-02-04T06:31:49ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Medicine2296-858X2025-02-011210.3389/fmed.2025.15099031509903Case report: a patient with spontaneous spinal epidural hematoma recovered after conservative treatmentJingge Cheng0Bo Li1Shuaiye Liu2Yiming Liu3Yipeng Zhao4Department of Emergency and Disaster Medicine, Seventh Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Shenzhen, ChinaDepartment of Emergency and Disaster Medicine, Seventh Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Shenzhen, ChinaDepartment of Cardiology, Seventh Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Shenzhen, ChinaDepartment of Emergency and Disaster Medicine, Seventh Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Shenzhen, ChinaDepartment of Pathology, Seventh Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Shenzhen, ChinaSpontaneous spinal epidural hematoma is a rare condition, akin to a stroke, which can manifest as hemiplegia. It cannot be diagnosed by head CT scan and is prone to misdiagnosis as a cerebral stroke, potentially leading to the activation of thrombolysis and exacerbation of the condition. This paper reports a case of a patient with this disease, a 68 years-old male who presented with sudden neck pain weakness, and numbness in the left limbs for 2 h. The symptoms were similar to those of a stroke. A head CT scan showed no significant abnormalities, but the clinical presentation of neck pain alerted the physician, who did not hastily administer thrombolysis. Instead, they quickly performed further examinations, including neck vessel ultrasound and neck CT/MRI, to rule out a cerebral stroke. The patient was ultimately diagnosed with spontaneous spinal epidural hematoma in the neck. The patient was transferred to the ICU for conservative treatment, and a follow-up neck MRI the next day revealed a significant reduction in the hematoma, with a corresponding improvement in clinical symptoms. This case report supports the diagnostic value of CT scans for spinal epidural hematoma and shares a conservative treatment plan for patients with high spinal cord lesions.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmed.2025.1509903/fullcase reportspontaneous spinal epidural hematomastrokestroke mimicconservative treatment
spellingShingle Jingge Cheng
Bo Li
Shuaiye Liu
Yiming Liu
Yipeng Zhao
Case report: a patient with spontaneous spinal epidural hematoma recovered after conservative treatment
Frontiers in Medicine
case report
spontaneous spinal epidural hematoma
stroke
stroke mimic
conservative treatment
title Case report: a patient with spontaneous spinal epidural hematoma recovered after conservative treatment
title_full Case report: a patient with spontaneous spinal epidural hematoma recovered after conservative treatment
title_fullStr Case report: a patient with spontaneous spinal epidural hematoma recovered after conservative treatment
title_full_unstemmed Case report: a patient with spontaneous spinal epidural hematoma recovered after conservative treatment
title_short Case report: a patient with spontaneous spinal epidural hematoma recovered after conservative treatment
title_sort case report a patient with spontaneous spinal epidural hematoma recovered after conservative treatment
topic case report
spontaneous spinal epidural hematoma
stroke
stroke mimic
conservative treatment
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmed.2025.1509903/full
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