Unusual appearance of a cerebral hydatid cyst as a hemorrhagic infarct

Abstract

We herein present a 32-year-old Lebanese woman with a history of cardiac hydatid cyst presenting with headache, confusion, and right arm clumsiness. A CT of the head showed hemorrhagic infarct of the left fronto-parietal lobe. Eleven months later, the subsequent development of hydatid cysts within the necrotic area of the infracted hemisphere suggested a cerebral hydatid embolism of cardiac origin. In patients with a positive history of hydatid disease, hydatid embolism should be considered in the differential diagnosis of stroke in young patients.