TY - JOUR
T1 - Cerebral fat emboli in a patient with paraplegia caused by bilateral femur fractures
AU - Nielsen, Lasse Fisker
AU - Pott, Frank
AU - Lohse, Allan
AU - Talibi, Monica Nicole
AU - Olsen, Markus Harboe
N1 - © BMJ Publishing Group Limited 2024. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.
PY - 2024/1/4
Y1 - 2024/1/4
N2 - Cerebral fat embolism is a rare cause of stroke and therefore an overlooked diagnosis. Often it is seen as a consequence of major bone fractures or after arthroplasty, and can lead to respiratory or circulatory collapse. We present a case of a patient with a history of paraplegia after a thoracic spinal cord injury that developed cerebral fat embolism following a bilateral femur fracture. Since the patient was paraplegic and with an altered mental state upon admission, femoral bone fractures were not initially suspected. The case shows the difficulties in diagnosing this condition.
AB - Cerebral fat embolism is a rare cause of stroke and therefore an overlooked diagnosis. Often it is seen as a consequence of major bone fractures or after arthroplasty, and can lead to respiratory or circulatory collapse. We present a case of a patient with a history of paraplegia after a thoracic spinal cord injury that developed cerebral fat embolism following a bilateral femur fracture. Since the patient was paraplegic and with an altered mental state upon admission, femoral bone fractures were not initially suspected. The case shows the difficulties in diagnosing this condition.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85181804456&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1136/bcr-2023-257702
DO - 10.1136/bcr-2023-257702
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 38176747
SN - 1757-790X
VL - 17
JO - BMJ Case Reports
JF - BMJ Case Reports
IS - 1
M1 - e257702
ER -