A Case of Contrast Leakage Mimicking Intraventricular Hemorrhage in a Patient with Intravenous Thrombolysis

Contrast leakage on non-enhanced brain computed tomography (CT) is a common phenomenon after diagnostic or interventional cerebral angiography in patients with acute ischemic stroke. Contrast leakage is known to be related to the loosening of the blood–brain barrier. Sometimes, the contrast leakage on non-enhanced brain CT has been mistaken for intracranial hemorrhage. Differentiating the contrast leakage from the intracranial hemorrhage on non-enhanced brain CT is a very important issue, because subsequent treatment after intravenous thrombolysis (IVT) or intra-arterial thrombolysis would depend on the result of brain CT after thrombolysis. Recently, we experienced a case of contrast leakage mimicking intraventricular hemorrhage in a patient with IVT. The contrast leakage into the lateral ventricles after IVT is not a common phenomenon. We describe here our case.