Sporadic Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease presenting as dizziness and cognitive decline: A case report

RATIONALE: Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease (CJD) is an infrequent and rapidly fatal neurodegenerative disease without effective cure. Common presentations of CJD include rapidly progressive cognitive decline, behavioral changes, cerebellar dysfunction, and visual disturbances. Since clinicians may see only very few cases during their professional career, it is important to be familiar with the clinical presentation and progression, and allow for quick diagnosis. PATIENT CONCERNS: We reported an elderly woman had recurrent attacks of dizziness in the preceding month. She began to suffer progression of memory disturbance half a month before admission and was admitted to our department in a coma. DIAGNOSIS: The accessory examinations of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), electroencephalography (EEG), 14-3-3 protein in cerebrospinal fluid and S100 protein in serum support the diagnosis of sporadic CJD (sCJD). Combined with this evidence and clinical symptom, we made a clinical diagnosis of sCJD. INTERVENTIONS: Supportive treatment. OUTCOMES: After 2 months of active treatment, the patient's condition had not improved, and the patient died 82 days after admission. LESSONS: Clinicians should attach importance to sCJD, which is significant for the prevention of transmission and treatment.