CRANIAL COMPUTED-TOMOGRAPHY IN THE ASSESSMENT OF NEUROLOGICAL COMPLICATIONS IN CRITICALLY ILL PATIENTS WITH SYSTEMIC LUPUS-ERYTHEMATOSUS

The cranial computed tomography findings in 22 critically ill patients with systemic lupus erythematosus in the intensive care unit were rev iewed to document the spectrum of pathology encountered and to assess the contribution of cranial computed tomography to the diagnosis and m anagement of such patients, many of whom had severe multisystem diseas e. Thirty-one scans were performed in 22 patients, all of which were a bnormal. Premature cerebral atrophy was identified in fifteen patients (68%), cerebral infarction in five (23%), intracranial haemorrhage an d cerebral oedema in four each (18%), and hydrocephalus in three (14%) . Six patients had multiple pathologies. The cranial computed tomograp hy findings confirmed the clinical diagnosis in 13 of 22 cases (59%) a nd altered it in nine (41%). The contribution to diagnosis and managem ent justifies transportation and computed tomography scanning. The con tribution to patient outcome, however is uncertain as mortality was 91 %.