The effect of rheumatoid arthritis on the anatomy of the cervical spine has not been clearly documented. We studied 129 female patients, 90 with rheumatoid arthritis and 39 with other pathologies (the control group). There were 21 patients in the control group with a diagnosis of cervical spondylotic myelopathy, and 18 with ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament. All had plain late...

OBJECTIVE To compare the success rate and capacities of nonsurgical (halo cast) versus surgical management of lower cervical spine injury. METHODS Forty patients admitted to hospitals affiliated with Shiraz University of Medical Sciences in Shiraz, Iran, from August 2002 to August 2004 with unstable cervical injuries were divided into 2 equal groups (halo versus surgery), and in each group, p...

We report on the anesthetic experience of a 38-week pregnant patient in labor with an upper cervical spinal cord injury after an unusual trauma. She was transferred from a district hospital to our medical center with acute quadriplegia and sensory loss. Plain cervical spine x-ray and computed tomographic scan showed a C2 odontoid (dens of axis) process type II fracture and atlantoaxial (C1-C2) ...

Objective: To discuss the results of chiropractic care in a 19 month-old patient with the diagnosis of severe chronic asthma and vertebral subluxation. Clinical Features: This patient began experiencing symptoms at age 9 months. By age 18 months he had been treated 4 times at the hospital emergency room for episodes of acute respiratory distress. He suffered from constant wheezing and cough and...

The majority of patients with rheumatoid arthritis involving the cervical spine can be managed non-operatively. These patients should be monitored closely by the treating physician for the development of neurologic symptoms or subluxation on radiographs. Non-surgical treatment in the majority of patients has a definite role. Several studies now suggest early surgical intervention in patients wi...

SUMNIARY Involvement of the cervical spine by rheumatoid disease is common, but lateral subluxation at the atlanto-axial level has not been recorded previously. The condition is due to asymmetrical erosion of the lateral atlanto-axial facet joint, and may be complicated by collapse of the lateral mass of the axis. The condition should be suspected in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who ...

Instability may present at a different level after successful stabilisation of an unstable segment in apparently isolated injuries of the cervical spine. It can give rise to progressive deformity or symptoms which require further treatment. We performed one or more operations for unstable cervical spinal injuries on 121 patients over a period of 90 months. Of these, five were identified as havi...

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory disease involving multiple joints. The cervical spine is often affected, and cases involving atlantoaxial joint can lead to instability. Anterior atlantoaxial subluxation in RA patients can lead to posterior neck pain or occipital headache because of compression of the C2 ganglion or nerve. Here, we report the successful treatment of a RA pati...

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic systemic inflammatory disease affecting a significant percentage of the population. Rheumatoid arthritis synovitis affects mostly small hand and feet joints, although it may compromise any joint with a synovial lining. Although cervical involvement occurs usually in longstanding disease in over half of these patients, it is usually preceeded by findings in...

Synovial cysts of the cervical spine are extremely rare. We describe an 8-year-old boy with atlantoaxial subluxation and hypoplasia of the dens. Magnetic resonance imaging showed a round lesion, posterior to the odontoid process. This mass was characterized by a low signal intensity on T1-weighted images, and high signal intensity on T2-weighted images. The retrodental synovial cyst disappeared...