Rupture of a large ophthalmic segment saccular aneurysm associated with closed head injury: case report.

OBJECTIVE AND IMPORTANCE

Although each year approximately 30,000 to 50,000 cases of subarachnoid hemorrhage in the United States are caused by the rupture of intracranial saccular aneurysms, there is little information in the literature documenting the association of aneurysmal rupture with closed head injury.

CLINICAL PRESENTATION

A 61-year-old woman presented after a motor vehicle accident with multiple injuries, including a severe closed head injury. Computed tomography revealed a diffuse basal subarachnoid hemorrhage. Angiography revealed the source as a large aneurysm arising from the ophthalmic segment of the left carotid artery.

INTERVENTION

After the patient was stabilized for her multiple injuries, she underwent craniotomy and clipping of the aneurysm. She recovered without developing new neurological deficits.

CONCLUSION

Although the association of head trauma and aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage is rare, the presence of significant basal subarachnoid blood on a computed tomographic scan should alert the physician to the possibility of a ruptured aneurysm.