Cerebellar Intracerebral Hemorrhage - Case 5

A 46 year-old hypertensive man presented with nausea, vomiting and a headache, along with the inability to walk. Within hours, he became comatose with decerebrate posturing.


Outline the Cerebellar Blood          Note the Blood in the 4th Ventricle

Cerebellar Intracerebral Hemorrhage: Axial CT scans. Note the area of high signal intensity in the right and central cerebellum which denotes acute blood on CT imaging. Also note the effacement of the adjacent fourth ventricle and compression of the brainstem.

The cerebellum is one of the common locations for intracerebral hypertensive hemorrhage. If the hematoma expands, it can result in direct compression of the brainstem (as seen above), or compression and obstruction of the fourth ventricle (also seen above) and secondary hydrocephalus. It is relatively uncommon for patients with a cerebellar hemorrhage to display limb ataxia of the arms or legs (classic cerebellar signs). They are much more likely to present with nausea, vomiting and the inability to walk.

Of all the possible locations for an intracerebral hemorrhage, the cerebellum is the most important to recognize early, as it is potentially treatable by surgical decompression and evacuation. If the hemorrhage results in compression of the fourth ventricle or aqueduct, acute hydrocephalus can develop, which is treatable by urgent shunting.


Revised 11/30/06.
Copyrighted 2006. David C Preston