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Clinical Reasoning: a 25-Year-Old Man with Headaches and Collapse Sana Syed and Andrew J

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Clinical Reasoning: a 25-Year-Old Man with Headaches and Collapse Sana Syed and Andrew J RESIDENT & FELLOW SECTION Clinical Reasoning: Section Editor A 25-year-old man with headaches and Mitchell S.V. Elkind, MD, MS collapse Sana Syed, MD SECTION 1 2. What are the red flags in this history? Andrew J. Westwood, A 25-year-old Caucasian man with a history of head- Syncope is characterized by a transient loss of con- MD, MRCP (UK) aches presented to the emergency room for witnessed sciousness and postural tone followed by spontaneous collapse. The emergency room physician who initially recovery and is usually caused by cerebral hypoxemia. evaluated the patient reported that the physical exam- It may result from cardiac or neurologic causes; how- Correspondence to ination had normal results. Dr. Syed: ever, the primary mechanism of syncope is typically a The patient was currently incarcerated for violent [email protected] response to cerebral hypoperfusion. assault and battery without any prior offenses. While Neurally induced syncope or vasovagal syncope walking, he had felt his legs become weaker before col- may result from a cardioinhibitory response, a vasode- lapsing to the ground. Loss of consciousness occurred pressor response, or a combination of the two.1 A for approximately 1 minute. He denied any preceding cardioinhibitory response results from an increase in symptoms such as chest pain, palpitations, or vision parasympathetic tone, which may cause bradycardia. changes, and there was no head trauma. There was A vasodepressor response results from a decrease in no incontinence, tongue biting, or witnessed abnormal sympathetic tone and leads to hypotension. Causes movements. Within a few minutes, the patient became can include processes that increase intra-abdominal reoriented without confusion or lethargy afterward. He pressure, situational stressors, or dehydration. Under- was able to stand and walk after the collapse. lying cardiac causes may include rhythm disturbances Thepatienthadachronichistoryofheadachestyp- or structural issues and noncardiac causes like seizures ically lasting a few hours, occurring once or twice per and strokes may be a result of underlying intracranial month, holocephalic in nature and responsive to simple mass or vessel disease. Additional etiologies include analgesics. This time, however, the headache had per- drugs, orthostasis, a pulmonary embolus, or it may be sisted for several days. The headaches had never woken psychogenic in origin. him up from sleep. In the 24 hours prior to presenta- The patient’s lack of relief with simple analgesia tion, he had been unable to eat or drink due to vomit- and the prolonged duration of the headaches were ing. Recently he also had 3 episodes of frank hemoptysis suggestive of a change in his headache pattern. andinthelast2monthshehadanunintentionalweight The unintentional weight loss and hemoptysis loss of 30 lbs. were also concerning; in an older person, meta- There was no history of hematochezia or hematuria. static carcinoma would be a primary concern. There was no history of smoking, IV drug use, or alco- However, given this history in a 25-year-old pris- hol abuse. He denied HIV risk factors or history of oner, an infectious etiology such as tuberculosis travel. Family history was remarkable for pancreatic needed to be considered. Chronic alcohol use cancer in the paternal uncle and his father had a pace- was also a possibility. maker (unknown reason). Questions for consideration: The pacemaker in the father may also suggest a familial cardiac abnormality, placing the patient at 1. Given this information, what is the differential at higher risk for a spontaneous arrhythmia and simple this time? cardiogenic syncope. GO TO SECTION 2 From the Department of Neurology (S.S.), Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center; and Department of Neurology (A.J.W.), Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA. Go to Neurology.org for full disclosures. Funding information and disclosures deemed relevant by the authors, if any, are provided at the end of the article. © 2013 American Academy of Neurology e211 ª"NFSJDBO"DBEFNZPG/FVSPMPHZ6OBVUIPSJ[FESFQSPEVDUJPOPGUIJTBSUJDMFJTQSPIJCJUFE SECTION 2 suggest a pulmonary embolism. The quick resolution On examination, the patient was alert and oriented of the syncope and the well appearance of the patient to place, person, and time and in no acute distress. and intact mentation suggest that meningoencephalitis He was well-appearing and well-nourished. His or seizures were less likely. blood pressure was 145/75 mm Hg, with a heart rate Blurring of the optic discs can indicate swelling of of 88 beats per minute. There was no orthostasis. the discs. Disc swelling commonly results from inflam- Oxygen saturations were 96% on room air and the mation or increased pressure, though central serous ret- respiratory rate was 18 breaths per minute. inopathy or drusen can mimic disc blurring.2 Given Mental state examination was unremarkable and he the syncope and lower extremity hyperreflexia, more followed 3-step commands with ease. Extraocular eye extensive nervous systemic involvement needed to be movements were intact. Visual acuity and visual fields considered. were unremarkable and the pupils reacted briskly. Reflexes are typically brisk in young adults; how- The optic discs were blurred. There was no facial asym- ever, this pathologic degree of hyperreflexia and clonus metry or sensory abnormalities and the tongue pro- implied more diffuse CNS involvement. Considering truded midline. Speech was normal rate and rhythm; the patient’s age, a demyelinating process such as neu- therewasnodysphagiaordysphonia.Tonewasnormal romyelitis optica or multiple sclerosis had to be con- and strength in the extremities was full. Reflexes were sidered. However, the lack of pain on eye movement, 21 in the upper extremities, 41 at the patellae, and photosensitivity, or loss of acuity made optic neuritis 31 at the ankles. There was patellar clonus bilaterally. less likely. Increased intracranial pressure can result in Toes were mute. Finger to nose testing was normal. His hyperreflexia and papilledema.3,4 legs were shackled. The differential for raised intracranial pressure is His examination was negative for bruits, gallops, or very broad and includes the following: rubs. Heart sounds were normal and the chest sounds • Space-occupying lesions (tumor, hematoma, clear to auscultation and resonant to percussion. granuloma, abscess) Question for consideration: • Hypoxic-ischemic injuries (resulting from hypertensive encephalopathy, liver failure, heart 1. How does the examination help revise the failure) differential? • Vascular insults (sinus thrombosis, infarction In evaluating for an underlying etiology of syn- with edema, superior mediastinal and jugular cope, it is necessary to take into consideration these vein obstruction) additional signs and symptoms. • CSF interruption (pseudotumor cerebri, Ar- Given the relatively low saturations of 96% on nold-Chiari, choroid plexus tumors, infection) room air in a 25-year-old patient, plus the history of • Idiopathic/cryptogenic weight loss and hemoptysis, infectious and neoplastic Question for consideration: causes remained in the differential. No cardiac abnor- malities were detected and there was no tachycardia to 1. What further workup at this time should be done? GO TO SECTION 3 e212 Neurology 80 May 14, 2013 ª"NFSJDBO"DBEFNZPG/FVSPMPHZ6OBVUIPSJ[FESFQSPEVDUJPOPGUIJTBSUJDMFJTQSPIJCJUFE SECTION 3 a primary lesion on the skin and lymphoma is more Laboratory testing revealed a leukocytosis of 14.4 k/mL common in immunocompromised individuals.5 (70% neutrophils) with a normal hemoglobin and plate- On further examination, the patient was found to let count. Electrolytes were within normal ranges except have a testicular mass, and biopsy was consistent with a glucose level of 53 mg/dL. Coagulation was normal. choriocarcinoma. Liver function tests were slightly elevated with alanine After this finding, a lumbar puncture was obtained. aminotransferase 53 (range 5–31), aspartate aminotrans- CSF revealed 4 white blood cells, 0 red blood cells, and ferase 43 (range 5–40), and alkaline phosphatase 126 normal protein and glucose levels. Additional testing (range 25–100). Urine toxicology was negative. included herpes simplex virus PCR, West Nile virus EKG showed normal sinus rhythm without tach- PCR, and a paraneoplastic panel including anti Ma2 ycardia or S1Q3T3 abnormality. and Ma1 (MaTa), Yo, Ri, Hu, NMDA, and voltage- Chest x-ray revealed numerous bilateral large masses gated potassium channel antibodies—all negative. A measuring up to approximately 5 cm. There was no routine EEG was normal. B12, rapid plasma reagin, pneumothorax or pleural effusion and the cardiome- thyroid-stimulating hormone, and thyroglobulin anti- diastinal silhouette was unremarkable. There were no bodies were also checked and were unremarkable. osseous or soft tissue abnormalities reported. A noncontrast CT of the head was also obtained DISCUSSION Testicular cancer is a source of metasta- (figure). ses to the brain and choriocarcinomas is a subset that more predominantly metastasizes to the brain.6 Cho- Questions for consideration: riocarcinomas are rare and may originate from fetal 1. What is abnormal on the imaging? trophoblasts or germ cells in the testes or ovaries. They 2. What is the differential of this lesion? account for about 1% of all testicular carcinomas. It is more common to see this subset of tumors in young The CT shows an obstructing mass in the center men, with a peak incidence between 20 and 30
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