Case presentation A 41-year-old woman with no known past medical history was in her usual state of health until she underwent a gingival scraping procedure on the left side of her mouth one month before. Following the procedure, she developed fever and malaise and was prescribed cephalexin and nystatin by her dentist. But a few days later, she suffered "the worst headache of her life" and presented to the hospital's emergency department. She underwent a lumbar puncture and head CT scan, both of which were normal, and was sent home with a prescription for hydromorphone and promethazine.
After two days of worsening symptoms, the patient returned to the hospital and was admitted. MRI and repeat lumbar puncture were again negative, and the patient was discharged from the hospital a few days later. The patient presented to the emergency department soon after that with continued complaints of…
