A rare case of a cervical dural arteriovenous fistula presenting in a younger patient with vertex subarachnoid hemorrhage: Case report and literature review

Abstract

Spinal dural arteriovenous fistulas (SDAVF) are rare entities, which mainly occur in the thoracic and lumbar regions of older adults with a significant male predominance. The clinical manifestations are nonspecific such as myelopathy and this can make it challenging to diagnose. Rarely these have been described in the cervical region with even rare manifestations including subarachnoid hemorrhage. In the few reports of hemorrhage, it is usually infratentorial. We present a case of 40-year-old female (uncommon gender and younger age) who presented with headaches and was found to have supra tentorial subarachnoid hemorrhage and a suspicious lesion in the spinal canal. This proved to be a type 1 AVM of the spinal canal (per the American British and French classification). This was successfully treated endovascularly. With the discussion of the relevant literature we hope that this case can add to our medical knowledge as another presentation of this uncommon condition and ultimately help in diagnosing this illusive and rare entity.

Keywords

• Spinal arteriovenous dural fistulas
• Subarachnoid hemorrhage
• Cervical spine vascular malformations