ISSN:
1432-1459
Keywords:
Vertebral artery dissection
;
Cervical nerve root compression
;
Nuchal pain
;
Colour-coded Duplex sonography
;
Magnetic resonance imaging
Source:
Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
Topics:
Medicine
Notes:
Abstract Vertebral artery dissection may cause upper limb peripheral motor deficit. We report three young patients presenting with nuchal pain followed by a nearly painless proximal paresis of the arm several days later. The cause, as detected by colour-coded Duplex sonography and MRI, was an extracranial dissection of the vertebral artery. The proximity of the intervertebral segment to the vertebral artery and the nerve roots indicated that compression by an intramural haematoma was the likely cause of the disorder. Subsequent examinations during anticoagulation treatment showed almost complete disappearance of the intramural haematoma and of the neurological deficits within a few weeks. We believe that the occurrence of an upper limb peripheral motor deficit should be added to the spectrum of potentially misleading signs of vertebral artery dissection.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF02444001
