Acute Subarachnoid Hemorrhage

AMPHETAMINE abuse and poisoning may lead to acute subarachnoid hemorrhage, clinically indistinguishable from ruptured berry aneurysm or arteriovenous malformation. The purposes of this communication are to call attention to such rare but serious complications of amphetamine abuse and to report an interesting angiographic feature of vasculitis demonstrable only on early angiography.

Report of a Case  A 19-year-old girl was brought to St. Luke's Hospital Center emergency room because she was stuporous and had paralysis of the right side since early that morning. She had enjoyed good health until the day before admission when she smoked marihuana, took amphetamine and cocaine orally, and began to complain of severe generalized headache and nausea and became drowsy.On physical examination she was a stuporous young girl rolling about in bed. She was responsive to noxious stimuli and moved her left arm and leg spontaneously. There was paralysis of her right upper and lower