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VOLUME 18 , ISSUE 3 ( March, 2014 ) > List of Articles

CASE REPORT

Cerebral fat embolism syndrome after long bone fracture due to gunshot injury

Latif Duran, Servet Kayhan, Celal Kati, Hizir Ufuk Akdemir, Kemal Balci, Yucel Yavuz

Keywords : Cerebral fat embolism, diffusion weighted magnetic resonance imaging, starfield pattern

Citation Information : Duran L, Kayhan S, Kati C, Akdemir HU, Balci K, Yavuz Y. Cerebral fat embolism syndrome after long bone fracture due to gunshot injury. Indian J Crit Care Med 2014; 18 (3):167-169.

DOI: 10.4103/0972-5229.128707

License: CC BY-ND 3.0

Published Online: 01-12-2014

Copyright Statement:  Copyright © 2014; The Author(s).


Abstract

Cerebral fat embolism syndrome is a lethal complication of long-bone fractures and clinically manifasted with respiratory distress, altered mental status, and petechial rash. We presented a 20-year-old male admitted with gun-shot wounds to his left leg. Twenty-four hours after the event, he had generalized tonic clonic seizures, decorticate posture and a Glascow Coma Scale of seven with localization of painful stimuli. Subsequent magnetic resonance imaging of the brain showed a star-field pattern defining multiple lesions of restricted diffusion. On a 4-week follow-up, he had returned to normal neurological function. Despite the severity of the neurological condition upon initial presentation, the case cerebral fat embolism illustrates that, cerebral dysfunction associated with cerebral fat embolism illustrates reversible.

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