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Retained knife blade: an unusual cause for headache following massive alcohol intake
  1. O Lesieur1,
  2. V Verrier1,
  3. B Lequeux1,
  4. M Lempereur2,
  5. E Picquenot2
  1. 1Intensive Care Unit, Saint-Louis Hospital, Réanimation, La Rochelle, France
  2. 2Radiology Unit, Saint-Louis Hospital, Réanimation, La Rochelle, France
  1. Correspondence to:
 Dr O Lesieur
 Intensive Care Unit, Saint-Louis Hospital, Réanimation, 17019 La Rochelle, France; olivier.lesieur{at}ch-larochelle.fr

Abstract

Massive alcohol intake usually resolves in a banal headache. We report a case of a patient presenting with acute alcohol intoxication in which the ensuing “hangover” was due to a knife blade deeply retained in the brain parenchyma. This case underlines the unpredictability of retained foreign bodies without a high level of suspicion and a detailed description of the circumstances of admission.

  • stab wound
  • brain
  • headache
  • alcohol intoxication

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Footnotes

  • Competing interests: none declared