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Computerized tomography is not reliable in the diagnosis of brainstem infection

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 March 2006

Peter Walshe ,
Paul Brennan ,
Michael Walsh  and
Rory McConn Walsh
Peter Walshe
Affiliation:
Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Beaumont Hospital, Dublin
Paul Brennan
Affiliation:
Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Beaumont Hospital, Dublin
Michael Walsh
Affiliation:
Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Beaumont Hospital, Dublin
Rory McConn Walsh
Affiliation:
Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Beaumont Hospital, Dublin
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Abstract

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The case of a 17-year-old girl who presented with a two-day history of absolute dysphagia secondary to a bulbar palsy due to a pre-pontine abscess is described. Rigid oesophagoscopy was normal and a neurology consultation suggested a central cause for her dysphagia. However the diagnosis was delayed because a computed tomography (CT) scan of her brain and brainstem was reported as normal. A subsequent magnetic resonance image (MRI) scan revealed a pre-pontine abscess. CT scanning is not as reliable as MRI in the diagnosis of infective lesions of the brainstem/brain, especially early in the course of the infection.

Keywords

Deglutition DisordersParalysis BulbarPonsAbscess
Type
Research Article
Information
The Journal of Laryngology & Otology , Volume 116 , Issue 3 , March 2002 , pp. 211 - 212
Copyright
© Royal Society of Medicine Press Limited 2002