Reversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndrome: Considerable differential diagnosis

Abstract

Background: Headache is the most common symptom in the neurology department of the hospital. This makes it a very important topic to understand more about what causes headaches. There are many causes of headaches and based on the cause, there could be different locations for headaches. One of the causes of the headache could be reversible vasoconstriction in the brain. This type of headache overlaps with a lot of differential diagnoses. Hence, it is important to bring light to this differential diagnosis to improvise the treatment regimen for the patient. Objectives: The objectives of the study were to study reversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndrome (RCVS) and all the differential diagnosis of headache that overlaps with RCVS. Methods: We searched the recent studies done on RCVS along with meta-analysis, controlled clinical trials, and cohort studies. We made the differential tables with symptoms, diagnoses, and treatments to bring a better understanding of the overlapping symptoms of different diseases and RCVS. Result: Understanding the symptoms, diagnosis of RCVS, and other overlapping symptoms of diseases, is helpful to avoid the extra expenditure of the patient. It would also help in leading treatment in the right direction without putting the patient on the experimental drugs.