differential diagnosis
Last reviewed 01/2018
Diseases which may masquerade as stroke include:
- meningitis
- encephalitis - especially due to Herpes simplex
- cerebral abscess
- cerebral tumour - infrequently presents acutely
- head injury
- acute hypoglycaemia
- Todd's - post-epileptic - paresis; resolves spontaneously within minutes or hours, or rarely, within days
- chronic subdural haematoma
- extradural haematoma - following trauma
- hypertensive encephalopathy - symptoms develop gradually with neurological focal signs appearing as a late or absent phenomenon
- demyelinating disease e.g. multiple sclerosis
- cerebral malaria
- cerebral lupus or other vasculitis