Mystery Case: A case of fulminant encephalopathy in a 69-year-old woman

A 69-year-old right-handed woman was admitted to the medical intensive care unit for acute encephalopathy. Her medical history included sickle cell disease (hemoglobin sickle cell [HbSC]) with bone involvement (bilateral femoral head osteonecrosis) and rare sickle cell crises with joint pain and hemolytic anemia requiring red blood cell transfusions, sarcoidosis, diabetes, hypertension, and hypothyroidism. She never smoked cigarettes and never used recreational drugs or alcohol, and there was no history of recent travel. The patient's daughter reported that the patient was found unresponsive lying on the floor in the morning. She was last seen normal the day prior, but had complained of diffuse muscle pain and body aches for 1 day.
Source: Neurology - Category: Neurology Authors: Tags: MRI, Other cerebrovascular disease/ Stroke, Coma, Critical care, Embolism RESIDENT AND FELLOW SECTION Source Type: research