Nontraumatic Neuroemergencies

Abstract

Several clinical presentations require emergent neuroimaging to determine the cause of the neurological defi cit and to institute appropriate therapy. Time is critical because neurons that are lost cannot be replaced. Generally, the clinical symptoms are due to ischemia and compression or destruction of neural elements. The two primary imaging modalities for the CNS are CT and MRI. CT is fast and can readily visualize fractures, hemorrhage, and foreign bodies. Otherwise, in patients who can cooperate for the longer imaging study, MRI provides better contrast resolution and has higher specifi city for most CNS diseases. The fi ve major categories of nontraumatic neuroemergencies are discussed below [ 1 ].