Spinal Cord Compression Secondary to a Spontaneous Cervical Epidural Haematoma

We report the case of an 86-year-old female patient with chronic neck pain who presented with an initial misleading clinical picture suggesting an ischaemic stroke. No recent or previous anticoagulation treatment or fall history was reported. The patient developed a paraplegia of the upper limbs needing magnetic resonance imaging which revealed a compressive cervical haematoma. The patient benefitted from cervical laminectomy and evacuation of the cervical haematoma. Motricity in upper extremities was recovered but paresis in the lower extremities persisted 1 week after surgical intervention.

Insidious spontaneous cervical haematoma can mimic ischaemic stroke.Early recognition and treatment of cervical haematoma can improve prognosis.