Presentation
Fell off a ladder and bumped his head.
Patient Data
Left frontoparietal scalp hematoma.
Small focus of hemorrhagic contusion in the left superior frontal gyrus with perifocal edema.
Transversely oriented fractures through the base of C2 vertebra, involving the neural foramina but not the dens.
C3 spinal process fracture.
Mild leukoaraiosis.
Bilateral enophthalmos.
Long temporal bone styloid processes.
No traumatic or otherwise notable finding on the chest-abdomen-pelvis scan (not shown).
Case Discussion
A case of head trauma with cervical spine fractures. The patient had severe osteoporosis, seen here in the superior cervical vertebrae and clearly evident on the chest-abdomen-pelvis scan. Osteoporosis and a rigid spine (e.g. DISH, ankylosing spondylitis) predispose to spinal fractures in cases of relatively mild trauma to the spine.
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