Abstract
Cerebral involvement is rare in polyarteritis nodosa(PAN);furthermore, secondary intracranial hemorrhage due to cerebral aneurysm is extremely rare. We describe an unusual case of repeated subarachnoid hemorrhage(SAH)in a 64-year-old woman with a history of PAN. Initially, she developed severe headache(probable first SAH, day 0), and presented at our hospital with second severe headache with disturbed consciousness on day 6. Computed tomography(CT)revealed that SAH was mainly distributed in the right basal cistern and sylvian fissure(second SAH). Three aneurysms were detected using CT angiography on the bilateral internal carotid arteries. An intentionally delayed surgery was planned because of the high risk period of cerebral vasospasm and takotsubo cardiomyopathy. On day 15, she complained of headache and had a convulsion. CT revealed a third SAH in the left sylvian fissure;cerebral angiography revealed enlargement of the left internal carotid-posterior communicating artery(IC-PC)aneurysm. Coil embolization of the aneurysm was performed on day 16, and she was treated using prednisolone(20mg/day)for PAN. However, on day 20, the patient became comatose, and CT revealed a fourth SAH in the right sylvian fissure. Cerebral angiography revealed enlargement of the right IC-PC aneurysm. Clipping of the aneurysm was successfully performed in spite of ventricular dysfunction, and the dose of prednisolone was increased to 40mg/day. After treatment, the ventricular dysfunction gradually resolved. Cerebral aneurysms with PAN are candidates for intervention because of their strong tendency to rupture. In our case, takotsubo cardiomyopathy might have been associated with impairment of the coronary microcirculation due to PAN. We suggest that aggressive immunosuppressive treatment for PAN and curative treatments for cerebral aneurysms should be considered with careful radiological examination and follow-up monitoring.
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