Spinal cord infarction is a rare disease characterized by an acute onset and severe back pain, bilateral weakness, paresthesia and sensory loss. We report a case with spinal cord infarction showing a rare clinical presentation. A 52-year-old male visited emergency room with a chief complaint of paraplegia. On the neurologic examinations, there were no sensory level and upper motor neuron signs, but deep tendon reflex was decreased on all extremities. There was no abnormal finding on the initial MRIs for the evaluation of the spinal cord. Although nerve conduction study (NCS) showed normal findings except delayed F-wave, his symptoms were thought to be due to Guillain-Barre syndrome. However, during the re-review of the initial MRIs, aortic dissection was found and he got an emergency operation. He was finally diagnosed as spinal cord infarction on the MRIs performed 20 days after the operation.
Journal of Neurosonology 8(1):41-43, 2016
Key Words: Spinal cord infarction, Aortic dissection, MRI