[Spontaneous intracranial hypotension: the value of isotope cisternoscintigraphy using 99mTc-DTPA]

Rev Neurol. 2004 Aug;39(4):347-50.
[Article in Spanish]

Abstract

Introduction: Spontaneous intracranial hypotension (SIH) is an infrequent clinical entity that is found predominantly in young adults and is characterised by the presence of acute or subacute headaches that appear on standing up and subsides on lying down.

Case report: A 35-year-old female with a three-month history of holocranial headaches, accompanied by dizziness and gait instability, which increase on standing up and diminish to a certain extent on lying down, associated to bilateral tinnitus. The patient's history included a slight strain made 4 months earlier, with a sudden non-irradiated pain in the back of the neck that got better spontaneously. On the basis of the clinical and radiological findings from an MRI scan of the head and neck, our service was asked to perform a cisternoscintigraphy.

Conclusions: Isotope cisternoscintigraphy using 99mTc-DTPA confirmed the diagnosis of the process and enabled us to locate the CSF leak. We therefore think it advisable to highlight its value in the diagnosis of SIH syndrome so as to be able to avoid the use of other invasive complementary explorations that entail a certain degree of morbidity and mortality.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Intracranial Hypotension / diagnostic imaging*
  • Radionuclide Imaging
  • Radiopharmaceuticals*
  • Technetium Tc 99m Pentetate / therapeutic use*

Substances

  • Radiopharmaceuticals
  • Technetium Tc 99m Pentetate