Intracerebral haemorrhage and angiographic beading following ingestion of catecholaminergics.

Abstract

We report two cases of serious intracerebral haemorrhage occurring in young women following their first use of oral medications containing catecholaminergic agents (phenylpropanolamine in combination with ephedrine or pseudoephedrine). Both women were previously well, and there was no evidence for systemic vasculitis, coagulopathy, aneurysm or arteriovenous malformation. Angiography in both cases, performed approximately forty hours following drug ingestion, revealed the beading pattern typical of that seen in previously reported cases of presumed amphetamine-induced "vasculitis." We believe that this arteriographic abnormality is non-specific and should not be construed as necessarily indicative of arteritis.