UMEM Educational Pearls

Title: What's the Diagnosis?

Category: Visual Diagnosis

Posted: 4/29/2012 by Haney Mallemat, MD (Updated: 4/30/2012)
Click here to contact Haney Mallemat, MD

Question

68 yo man presents with new-onset seizures; his CT is shown below. What is your differential diagnosis?

Answer

Cerebral Ring-Enhancing Lesions

Neoplasm

Primary brain tumor
Primary CNS lymphoma
Metastatic disease

Infectious

Pyogenic abscess
Tuberculoma
Syphilis
Neurocysticercosis
Toxoplasmosis
Nocardiosis
Cryptococcosis
Aspergillosis

Neurologic

Multiple sclerosis (lesions within the white matter)
Sacroidosis
Vasculitis
Aneurysm
Resolving hematoma
Cerebral infarct
Postoperative change

Bonus pearl: Do you like Emergency Ultrasound and want a quick review before you scan your next patient? Well, check out the "One-minute Ultrasound App". It's provides a quick review for many essential ultrasound studies...and yes, it's FREE for both iphone and android.

Iphone: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/one-minute-ultrasound/id512301845?mt=8&ls=1

Adroid: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.v1_4.oneminuteus.com&feature=search_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDEsImNvbS52MV80Lm9uZW1pbnV0ZXVzLmNvbSJd

Garg, R., Sinha, M. Multiple ring-enhancing lesions of the brain. J Postgrad Med. 2010 Oct-Dec; 56(4):307-16

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