This was a very interesting case! It reminded me of a patient I saw earlier this year who similarly had initially presented with a headache. She too later returned to the ED with weakness and was found to have a carotid dissection. This diagnosis is one that makes me nervous as the initial presentation and work-up did not have alarming features that would lead you to consider a possible carotid dissection earlier in this patient’s clinical course. This was a very educational case with a great discussion of causes of severe headaches.
This case was completely unexpected.
This was a very interesting case! It reminded me of a patient I saw earlier this year who similarly had initially presented with a headache. She too later returned to the ED with weakness and was found to have a carotid dissection. This diagnosis is one that makes me nervous as the initial presentation and work-up did not have alarming features that would lead you to consider a possible carotid dissection earlier in this patient’s clinical course. This was a very educational case with a great discussion of causes of severe headaches.