A 72 Year-Old Woman with Sudden Loss of Consciousness

Abstract

A 72 year-old woman presented to the emergency department of her local hospital, having fallen and struck the left side of her face. She complained of headache and dizziness. One week later, she returned to the emergency department, complaining of diplopia that was initially intermittent, but now constant. An unenhanced CT scan was obtained ( Figure 1A).Five weeks later, she was found at home, unresponsive. She was taken to the emergency department, and an unenhanced CT scan was obtained ( Figure 1B,C). She was intubated and transferred to the Halifax Infirmary. Upon arrival, her Glasgow Coma Scale was 6T: her pupils were weakly reactive and she was withdrawing to painful stimuli, better on the right side than the left side. Her general physical examination was unremarkable.