A clinical and MRI study of cerebellar infarctions.

The frequency of cerebellar infarctions over two and a half years was 2.7% of the 1300 hospitalized patients over that period. Sixteen patients with cerebellar infarctions were studied by using clinical manifestations and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Ages ranged from 41-87 (mean 63.5) years; 13 were men and 3, women. Risk factors included: hypertension (50%), diabetes (44%), prior stroke (44%), cardiac disease (38%), and hyperlipidemia (19%). Common symptoms and signs were dizziness/vertigo (75%), unsteadiness (69%), dysarthria (69%), and nausea/vomiting (50%). Infarcts mainly involved the posterior inferior cerebellar artery (PICA) territory and tended to be associated with brainstem infarcts in 14 of the 16 patients. Most cerebellar infarctions had a benign course, especially the small ones. No mortality was noted in this series. The short-term outcome of the cerebellar infarctions seemed to depend on the size of the infarcts and the sites of the artery occlusion. It was concluded that diagnosis of cerebellar infarctions requires a high index of clinical suspicion, especially when patients present with a sudden onset of ataxia, dizziness/vertigo, nausea/vomiting and dysarthria; and that MRI is a useful tool for the detailed study of cerebellar infarctions and can elucidate associated brainstem infarcts.