CT findings of hypoxic basal ganglia damage

The outcome of hypoxic ischemic injury ranges from complete recovery to a persistent vegetative state or death, depending on the length of time the patient remains unconscious and the degree of associated cardiac failure. We describe three patients who were comatose from a hypoxic and/or ischemic injury and whose principal computed tomographic (CT) finding was bilateral basal ganglia hypodensities. Two of these patients were discharged from the hospital with minimal residual neurologic deficits. These cases and review of the literature suggest that ischemic basal ganglia signs on CT scan are not necessarily a predictor of severe neurologic sequelae.