Sympathetic storming in a patient with intracranial basal ganglia hemorrhage

Association of Autonomic Storming with Urinary Catheter Removal in NMDA Receptor Encephalitis: A Case Report

We present a case of a 47-year-old female who presented with altered mental status and was found to have severe anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis. Her intensive care unit course was complicated by paroxysmal sympathetic storming. She also had urinary retention for which a catheter was placed early in her admission, but attempts at removal were associated with worsening storming. Her average Clinical Features Scale score was 5.9 when the catheter was not in place compared to 3.6 with the catheter in place. This is the first case report to our knowledge demonstrating an association between urinary catheter removal and autonomic storming in anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis.

Profuse unilateral hyperhidrosis induced by urinary retention in a stroke patient

INTRODUCTION

The diagnosis of urinary retention in stroke patients is challenging because their symptoms may be subtle, or go unnoticed. Furthermore, patients suffering from aphasia or impaired cognition often have difficulties communicating urination problems, leading to their urinary retention being overlooked.

CASE REPORT

We report a 53-year-old man with bilateral pontine hemorrhage resulting in incomplete locked-in syndrome. During the patient's hospital course, he developed 3 episodes of rapid onset of profuse unilateral hyperhidrosis. All 3 episodes were found to be induced by an overly distended bladder and each time the unilateral hyperhidrosis resolved promptly after bladder drainage.

CONCLUSIONS

This case provides the first description of unilateral hyperhidrosis as a manifestation of urinary retention in a stroke patient. It is important for clinicians to recognize this condition so that appropriate management can be implemented in time to prevent potential detrusor injury and renal impairment caused by bladder overdistension.

Paroxysmal sympathetic hyperactivity in hemispheric intraparenchymal hemorrhage

Introduction

Paroxysmal sympathetic hyperactivity (PSH) is a hyperadrenergic syndrome that may follow acute brain injury characterized by episodic, hyperadrenergic alterations in vital signs. Identifying commonality in lesion localization in patients with PSH is challenging, but intraparenchymal hemorrhage (IPH) represents a focal injury that might provide insight. We describe a series of patients with IPH that developed PSH, and review the literature.

Methods

Patients with IPH who developed PSH were identified from OHSU hospital records. A literature review was conducted to identify similar cases through PUBMED, OVID, and Google Scholar.

Results

Three cases meeting criteria for PSH were identified. Hemorrhage volume ranged from 70 to 128 mL, and intracranial hemorrhage score ranged from 2 to 3. The laterality of the hemorrhage and significant volume of hemorrhage was similar in each of the patients, specifically all hemorrhages were large, subcortical, and right-sided. A literature search identified six additional cases, half of whom reported a right hemisphere hemorrhage and the majority also had subcortical localization.

Conclusions

Our literature review identified six cases of IPH associated with PSH with five cases having subcortical lesion locations, echoing the areas of disruption in our three cases. On the basis of these observations, we hypothesize that injuries along the pathway from the insular cortex to downstream sympathetic centers may remove tonic inhibition leading to unchecked sympathetic outflow. Prospective investigations of lesion location in patients with IPH and PSH are warranted to test this hypothesis, especially with advanced neuroimaging techniques.