Diseases Which May Mimic Stroke
| Disease | Comment |
|---|---|
| Subdural haematoma | May present with focal neurological deficits. Often no history of trauma. May have headache, fluctuating symptoms and signs. Diagnosis on brain imaging. |
| Subarachnoid haemorrhage | Classically presents with sudden onset headache with or without focal neurological signs. Diagnosis on brain imaging and lumbar puncture. |
| Brain tumour | Often progressive symptoms with or without symptoms of raised intracranial pressure. Diagnosis with contrast enhanced brain imaging. |
| Encephalitis | More often global signs such as clouding of consciousness, confusion, headache together with symptoms and signs of sepsis. Can have focal neurology. Diagnosis on lumbar puncture. |
| Hypertensive encephalopathy andposterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRES) | Usually generalized rather than focal symptoms such as headache, vomiting, clouding consciousness and seizures. May present with cortical blindness and other visual disturbance. Diagnosis on brain imaging and clinical picture. Patients often make good recovery with reversal of radiological abnormalities. |
| Cerebral vasculitis | Presents with focal neurological signs, sometimes in patients with known systemic vasculitis. Fluctuating course. Diagnosis on brain imaging, inflammatory and autoimmune markers and may need brain biopsy. |