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Washington University Experience | VASCULAR | Edema - Cerebral | 10A0 Case 10 History
Case 10 History ---- This patient was a 91 year old woman with a long history of dementia admitted with a two-day history of left sided weakness. CT scan of the head showed a contrast-enhancing right frontal mass consistent with metastasis. She had a history of hypertension and degenerative joint disease. During the hospitalization she was treated with iron for microcytic anemia and with antibiotics for a urinary tract infection. She had intermittent melena and on 10/15 her blood pressure fell and she expired. ---- Autopsy revealed adenocarcinoma of the sigmoid colon which had metastasized to the right frontal lobe with marked edema surrounding it. In the hippocampus there were many neurofibrillary tangles and a few senile plaques; however, there were no plaques or tangles in the neocortex. The heart showed left ventricular hypertrophy reflecting chronic hypertension. This patient apparently died of hypotension secondary to blood loss. There was no evidence of uncal herniation or heart failure.
