Intraventricular meningioma with fatal haemorrhage: Clinical and autopsy findings

Abstract 

Only a few cases of intraventricular meningioma have been reported and the association with intracranial haemorrhage is even rarer. More than ever, autopsy findings are scarce. Here, we report a case of primary intraventricular meningioma with intraventricular haemorrhage in a 57-year-old woman. A CT scan of the head initially suggested a malignant brain tumour as the lesion was quite inhomogeneous with hyper- and hypodense sections accompanied by fresh haemorrhage. At autopsy, the tumour was histologically diagnosed as a fibroblastic meningioma WHO-Grade I. The source of haemorrhage was most likely the tumour itself as it contained focally rather large angiomatous and additionally small cavernous vessels and acute haemorrhage in various sections. The assumptive adherence of the tumour to the choroid plexus was probably disrupted by the haematoma.

Keywords: Brain neoplasm, Cerebral ventricle neoplasm, Hydrocephalus, Intracranial haemorrhage, Meningeal neoplasm, Meningioma apoplecticum