Wirklich betrunken?

We report about a 42-year-old patient who was admitted to the emergency department because of suspected alcohol abuse. He declared himself to be drunk. He stated in his case history that he had suffered from right sided neck and facial pain for several days. The clinical examination revealed a left sided hemiparesis. Together with the demonstrated right hemispherical brain ischemia by computed tomography, a presumptive diagnosis of a dissection of the right internal carotid artery was made. This diagnosis was finally confirmed by ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging. A therapy with full dose heparin was begun and oral anticoagulation was subsequently initiated. After two weeks of follow-up, the neurological deficiencies were partially regredient.