A case of locked-in syndrome complicated by central deafness. uri icon

Overview

abstract

  • BACKGROUND: A 53-year-old male with a history of hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and factor V deficiency presented to an emergency room with progressively increasing headache, slurred speech, and left upper extremity weakness. Over the previous 3 months, he had been receiving warfarin for prophylaxis of deep venous thrombosis following knee surgery. After presentation and an initial period of coma, he became tetraplegic and anarthric, requiring intubation and ventilatory assistance. INVESTIGATIONS: Neurological examination, CT scan, electroencephalogram, brainstem auditory and visual evoked potential studies, neuropsychological assessment and functional MRI studies. DIAGNOSIS: Locked-in syndrome following ventral pontine hemorrhage, complicated by central deafness secondary to extension of the lesion to the inferior colliculus. MANAGEMENT: Development of an augmentative communication system designed to exploit the patient's preserved cognitive and motor functions.

publication date

  • May 27, 2008

Research

keywords

  • Hearing Loss, Central
  • Quadriplegia

Identity

Scopus Document Identifier

  • 49249094274

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

  • 10.1038/ncpneuro0823

PubMed ID

  • 18506168

Additional Document Info

volume

  • 4

issue

  • 8