Ischemic stroke in the combined territories of the septum pellucidum and the cingulate gyrus: A case report and literature review

INTRODUCTION: Cases of isolated septum pellucidum infarction have not yet been reported. To date, there are only 2 stroke reports involving septum pellucidum infarction. The etiology of septum pellucidum infarction was subcallosal artery (ScA) injury. The abnormalities were strictly confined to the septum pellucidum and the right cingulated gyrus, making this the first case to report such confined abnormalities. PATIENT CONCERNS: In this report, we present a case of ischemic stroke confined to the septum pellucidum and cingulated gyrus in a 48-year-old male patient who presented with transient ischemic attack-like paroxysmal lower left limb weakness. DIAGNOSIS: Even no obvious abnormalities were revealed by an emergency computed tomography, the infarction in the combined territories of the septum pellucidum and the cingulate gyrus was detected on magnetic resonance imaging. INTERVENTIONS: Aspirin with clopidogrel was administered for 3 weeks as a secondary preventive drug. Clopidogrel was selected as a long-term antiplatelet drug based on a thromboelastogram. OUTCOMES: The patient showed no positive signs related to the nervous system in the hospital, and there was no recurrence during the 3-month follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: Infarction in the septum pellucidum and cingulate gyrus is rare and has atypical clinical manifestations. Physical examination may not yield obvious positive signs. False-negative computed tomography findings of the head may result in misdiagnosis. Thus, it is necessary to perform whole-brain magnetic resonance imaging in time. Moreover, ScA protection should be paid attention to during surgery for anterior communicating artery aneurysm.