STROKE MIMICS: A PSYCHOGENIC STROKE PATIENT TREATED WITH ALTEPLASE

For rtPA treatment to be effective it should be initiated within the first 4.5 hours following the onset of a stroke. Such a short therapeutic window demands a rapid diagnosis and decision making on the part of the physician. There are patients with stroke-like symptoms and an initial diagnosis of a stroke, but who are finally diagnosed as suffering from another condition. According to the subject literature, stroke mimics are diagnosed in about 1.4 – 3.5% of patients initially diagnosed as having had an ischemic stroke. Psychogenic strokes (conversion disorders) may be found in as many as 8.2% of stroke patients. Proper diagnosis is especially important in patients eligible for thrombolytic treatment when there is usually not enough time to establish the diagnosis of a stroke mimic, especially one of psychogenic origin. A patient with an initial diagnosis of an ischemic stroke who was treated with intravenous alteplase infusion. The previous two ischemic strokes treated in the same manner had been diagnosed one and two years earlier. In all hospitalizations no rtPA treatment complications had been observed. In our patient a proper neuropsychological examination was performed and a conversion disorder diagnosed. We would like to underline the importance of cooperation between the neuropsychologist and neurology physician within clinical practice.