Unusual cause of encephalopathy after brain surgery.

For patients who have had a recent neurosurgical procedure, a visit to the emergency department for encephalopathy may automatically prompt a neurosurgical consult. We present a case of a patient with a history of Chiari malformation decompressed 6 months prior who presented with a 2-week history of slowly progressive altered mental status, headache and imbalance-symptoms consistent with her initial Chiari symptoms, so neurosurgery was consulted. Imaging showed no acute abnormality, but laboratory results revealed metabolic acidosis with high salicylate levels. When reporting medication use, this patient initially left out that she had been taking Goody's powder (845 mg aspirin) for headaches, and long-term use led to metabolic encephalopathy. Despite a recent history of surgery, it is important to keep the differential diagnosis broad especially when there are signs of metabolic derangement. © BMJ Publishing Group Ltd (unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2017. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.