Paralysis of the lower cranial nerves is uncommon after closed head injuries. Most cases reported are unilateral and associated with base of skull fractures, usually involving the occipital condyles. Bilateral lower cranial nerve palsy is even less common, with only a handful of cases reported in literature. A 17-year-old girl presented to us after she was involved in a side-on collision with a car while driving a scooter. She sustained traumatic brain injury requiring mechanical ventilation. Detailed neurological evaluation revealed bilateral paralysis of the IXth, Xth, and XIIth cranial nerves with no evidence of a fracture of the base of skull or brain stem injury. A traction type of injury to the nerves arising from a whiplash mechanism may have led to paralysis of the lower cranial nerves in our patient. An exhaustive review of literature revealed 11 reports of bilateral lower cranial nerve palsy associated with closed head injuries; there were only four cases without underlying fracture of the occipital condyles. Our patient made a complete recovery over a period of 4 months. A traction type of injury to the lower cranial nerves may occur due to a whiplash mechanism. This type of injury may be associated with a favorable outcome.
Cardiogenic pulmonary edema usually presents with characteristic clinical features and bilateral infiltrates on the chest radiograph. Rarely, pulmonary edema may manifest unilaterally, leading to a mistaken diagnosis of a primary lung pathology. We present a 30-year-old man who developed acute coronary syndrome following an overdose of alprazolam. He developed breathlessness with unilateral infiltrates on the chest radiograph. Echocardiography revealed regional wall motion abnormalities related to underlying ischemia and acute mitral regurgitation with an eccentric jet. Besides, he had significant impairment of left ventricular systolic function. His coronary angiogram revealed a slow-flow phenomenon in the right coronary and left anterior descending artery territories. Ischemia-related dysfunction of the posterolateral papillary muscle probably led to a floppy posterior mitral leaflet and an eccentrically directed regurgitant jet, leading to unilateral pulmonary edema. He was commenced on dual antiplatelet therapy, heparin infusion, atorvastatin, frusemide, and ramipril, following which he showed gradual clinical improvement along with resolution of the radiological infiltrates. His left ventricular function improved, and the mitral valve function normalized on echocardiography within a week.
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