Acute vestibular syndrome with down-beat nystagmus as a sole clinical presentation in AICA transient ischemic attack with an uncommon clinical course

Abstract

Isolated acute vestibular syndrome remains a diagnostic challenge in the emergency department and the initial approach should include the identification of a central or peripheral etiology. This is the case report of an elderly patient with known cardiovascular risk factors presenting with acute vertigo and unsteadiness. Neurological examination was notable only for down-beat nystagmus and diffusion-weighted MRI showed normal findings. He was treated as having an emerging anterior-inferior cerebellar artery (AICA) stroke. Even when MRI showed no signs of hemorrhage or infarction, the neurotological bedside examination was a determinant. The cochleovestibular system was not spared by the ischemic injury but a more extensive neurological damage was probably avoided by approaching this case as a stroke.