[Subarachnoid hemorrhage caused by a rupture of a spinal arteriovenous malformation]

The authors report on a patient presenting with subarachnoid hemorrhage that was caused by a rupture of an spinal combined arteriovenous malformation at cervicothoracic junction. The patient was a 30-year-old female, who had exhibited an abrupt onset of severe low neck and occipital pain with radiation into shoulders and vomiting. Neurological examination revealed severe meningism without motor or sensory deficit. Digital subtraction angiography did not demonstrate any intracranial source of bleeding, whereas spinal angiography revealed a spinal arteriovenous malformation at cervicothoracic junction. Endovascular treatment of the malformation was considered for this patient. Occipital and neck pain with radiation into schoulders and severe meningism are clues pointing to a spinal origin of the haemorrhage.