Unusual Magnetic Resonance Imaging Findings Contrast-induced Encephalopathy following Cerebral Angiography

Contrast-induced encephalopathy (CIE) following cerebral angiography has similar clinical presentations to ischemic complications of cerebral angiography. Neurologic deficits in CIE are mostly transient, but those caused by acute cerebral infarction (ACI) as ischemic complications of cerebral angiography may be permanent. Therefore, distinguishing CIE from ACI is important. Diffusion restriction on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) implies ACI, while hyperintensity on diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) without correlation on the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) map implies CIE. We reported a rare case of CIE with diffusion restriction on MRI following cerebral angiography that mimicked MRI findings of ACI. The mechanism of this phenomenon remains unknown and requires further investigation.