Misdiagnosed bilateral C5-C6 dislocation causing cervical spine instability: a case report

Introduction The diagnosis of cervical spine injuries remains a significant problem in many blunt trauma patients. Correct and early diagnosis of these injuries is imperative as delayed or missed diagnoses result in increased morbidity and mortality. Case presentation A 57-year-old Caucasian woman p...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Cases journal 2009-07, Vol.2 (1), p.6149-6149
Main Authors: Gelalis, Ioannis D, Christoforou, Georgios, Arnaoutoglou, Christina M, Politis, Angelos N, Manoudis, Gregory, Xenakis, Theodoros A
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Care and treatment
Case studies
Central nervous system diseases
Diagnosis
Patient outcomes
Research article
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Summary:Introduction The diagnosis of cervical spine injuries remains a significant problem in many blunt trauma patients. Correct and early diagnosis of these injuries is imperative as delayed or missed diagnoses result in increased morbidity and mortality. Case presentation A 57-year-old Caucasian woman presented with a misdiagnosed bilateral C5-C6 dislocation one month after a fall and head injury, without clearance of the cervical spine in her previous visits to two physicians and having already started physiotherapy sessions, despite the presence of pain in the clinical examination. Dislocation was treated with open reduction and spinal fusion with posterior instrumentation 4 weeks post-trauma. Conclusions Every physician should be highly suspicious of cervical spine injury in blunt trauma patients with positive clinical examination and include radiologic studies in his screening modality. Physiotherapy sessions should under no circumstances be started in the presence of underlying spine injury.
ISSN:1757-1626
1757-1626
DOI:10.4076/1757-1626-2-6149