Podcast #280: Isolated Aphasia in Stroke

Author: Aaron Lessen, M.D.

Educational Pearls

• Patients with an ischemic stroke from occlusion of the left middle cerebral artery often present with aphasia in addition to other neurological deficits.
• A recent study looked at patients presenting with suspected stroke. Of the 700 patients recruited, 3% had isolated aphasia on exam.  On follow-up, none of the 3% had evidence of stroke on imaging. Underlying causes of the isolated aphasia in these patients included syncope, infections, seizures were the underlying cause.  

References: Gabriel Casella, Rafael H. Llinas, Elisabeth B. Marsh, Isolated aphasia in the emergency department: The likelihood of ischemia is low, Clinical Neurology and Neurosurgery, Volume 163, 2017, Pages 24-26, ISSN 0303-8467, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clineuro.2017.10.013.