Isolated Cerebellar Lesions Followed by Delayed Encephalopathy after Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

Song, Young-Mok

doi:2026.44.1.59

J Korean Neurol Assoc > Volume 44(1); 2026 > Article

Case Report

Journal of the Korean Neurological Association 2026;44(1): 59-63. doi: https://doi.org/10.17340/jkna.2025.0048

일산화탄소 중독 후 발생한 단독 소뇌병변과 지연뇌병증

송영목

단국대학교 의과대학 신경과학교실

Isolated Cerebellar Lesions Followed by Delayed Encephalopathy after Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

Young-Mok Song MD, PhD

Department of Neurology, Dankook University College of Medicine, Cheonan, Korea

Corresponding Author: Young-Mok Song ,Tel: +82-41-550-3992, Fax: +82-41-556-6245, Email: ymsong@dankook.ac.kr

*These authors contributed equally to this work

Received: October 22, 2025 Revised: November 27, 2025 Accepted: December 10, 2025 Published online: February 1, 2026

Abstract

Carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning typically results in bilateral globus pallidus and subcortical white matter injuries, sometimes followed by delayed encephalopathy with white matter changes. This report describes a patient with CO poisoning who initially presented with isolated cerebellar lesions on imaging. Following recovery from the acute phase, the patient developed delayed encephalopathy, manifesting as Parkinsonism and akinetic mutism. This case highlights that isolated cerebellar involvement may represent an atypical radiological finding in CO poisoning.

Key Words: Carbon monoxide poisoning | Cerebellum | Magnetic resonance imaging