Atypical brain imaging findings associated with heat stroke: A patient with rhabdomyolysis and acute kidney injury: A case report

Heat stroke is a serious medical condition that can cause multiple organ dysfunction, including central nervous system damage. The complications of heat stroke occur because of hypoperfusion, an inflammatory response, and thrombosis, resulting in variable imaging findings. This report describes a rare case of rapidly progressive heat stroke with rhabdomyolysis and acute kidney injury in a 53-year-old woman with atypical brain computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging findings involving the bilateral cerebral cortex and deep gray matter but excluding the cerebellum. She had an increased diffusion-weighted imaging signal and a reduced apparent diffusion coefficient within the bilateral basal ganglia and cerebral cortex, which have not been reported previously. These findings indicate that cytotoxic edema is a potential mechanism of brain damage in individuals with heat stroke.