Swirl Sign

Last edited and medically reviewed by Alaric Steinmetz on 04.03.2023

Synonyms: Swirl sign

The Swirl Sign is a neuroradiological sign that can be seen in acute hemorrhages on CT imaging¹. The presence of a Swirl Sign on imaging is indicative of active bleeding and correlates with non-coagulated blood in an extra-axial hemorrhage². In patients in whom a Swirl Sign can be observed on CT imaging, it correlates significantly with an increase in hematoma size over the subsequent course³.

Imaging

Swirl sign on CT — Axial CT imaging of the skull showing a hyperacute hemorrhage (white arrows) with a swirl sign (black arrow).

References

Al-Nakshabandi NA. The Swirl Sign. Radiology. February 2001:433-433. ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩
The CT Swirl Sign Is Associated with Hematoma Expansion in Intracerebral Hemorrhage. D. Ng, L. Churilov, P. Mitchell, R. Dowling and B. YanAmerican Journal of Neuroradiology February 2018, 39 (2) 232-237 ↩ ↩

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