[Endoscopic method in etiological diagnosis of spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage. Case report]

The etiology of cerebral hemorrhage is not always easy to diagnose and modern neuroimaging methods may be deceptive. The authors report on a 48-year-old previously healthy male admitted to hospital with a first-time severe generalized epileptic seizure. The patient presented with aphasia, confusion, headaches, nausea, right hemianopia and early papilledema. CT revealed an intracerebral hematoma in the left occipital lobe but MRI and MRA failed to provide any further insight into the etiology of the hemorrhage. Due to persisting intracranial hypertension, the patient underwent neuroendoscopic removal of the hematoma. After blood clots were evacuated, pathologic vascularity was found. Tissue samples were collected from the walls of the hematoma cavity. Neoplastic cells adjacent to the blood vessels were identified in one of the samples. The patient was reoperated and a glioma-like tumor was removed. The diagnosis of cerebral intratumoral hemorrhage is difficult especially when there are no previous clinical signs of a tumor. Neuroendoscopy may speed up the diagnostic process which usually extends past resorption of the haematoma and the technique may be an alternative to stereotactic surgery.