Potentially life-threatening emergency
Cerebral edema
Alerts and Notices
Synopsis

Cerebral edema is characterized by blurred vision, intracranial hypertension, headache, and loss of consciousness. Other common signs and symptoms are nausea, vomiting, sudden elevated blood pressure, mental status alteration, and decreased heart rate. It presents a life-threatening medical emergency leading to herniation, coma, and brain death.
Causes include severe brain trauma, ischemic stroke, meningitis, encephalitis, hepatic encephalopathy, brain cancer, diabetic ketoacidosis, eclampsia, or cerebral infarction. It also occurs as a form of high-altitude edema. Cerebral edema may occur in infants and adults.
Management aims to reduce intracranial pressure and excess brain fluid and includes corticosteroids, osmotic agents, diuretics, inotropics and other pharmacotherapy, decompression, and surgery.
Codes
ICD10CM:G93.6 – Cerebral edema
SNOMEDCT:
2032001 – Cerebral Edema
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Diagnostic Pearls
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Differential Diagnosis & Pitfalls
Diffuse cerebral edema:- Drug toxicity
- Reye syndrome
- Hepatic encephalopathy
- Encephalitis
- Anoxic episode
- Sinus thrombosis
- Subarachnoid hemorrhage
- Status epilepticus
- Trauma
- Tumor
- Abscess
- Encephalitis
- Ischemia (see stroke)
Best Tests
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Management Pearls
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Therapy
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Drug Reaction Data
Below is a list of drugs with literature evidence indicating an adverse association with this diagnosis. The list is continually updated through ongoing research and new medication approvals. Click on Citations to sort by number of citations or click on Medication to sort the medications alphabetically.Subscription Required
References
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Last Reviewed:04/05/2018
Last Updated:04/05/2018
Last Updated:04/05/2018