UMEM Educational Pearls

Title: Vasogenic Cerebral Edema

Category: Neurology

Keywords: vasogenic cerebral edema, white matter, blood-brain-barrier, steroids (PubMed Search)

Posted: 4/26/2017 by WanTsu Wendy Chang, MD
Click here to contact WanTsu Wendy Chang, MD

Vasogenic Cerebral Edema

Vasogenic cerebral edema is most commonly seen with brain tumors and cerebral abscesses.
It mainly involves the white matter.
Gray-white differentiation is maintained, so the edema has a finger-like pattern on CT (see Figure).
It is caused by disruption of the blood-brain-barrier, thus responds to treatment with steroids.

Case image courtesy of Dr David Cuete, Radiopaedia.org, rID: 23178

Follow me on Twitter @EM_NCC!