Cervicomedullary compression secondary to massive calcium pyrophosphate crystal deposition in the atlantoaxial joint with intradural extension and vertebral artery encasement

2007 ◽  
Vol 67 (2) ◽  
pp. 200-203 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kanika S. Sethi ◽  
Ajay Garg ◽  
Mehar C. Sharma ◽  
Faiz U. Ahmad ◽  
Bhawani S. Sharma
2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. e228102
Author(s):  
Edward Nicholas Northrup ◽  
Benjamin Robert Pflederer

A 45-year-old male patient with Tourette syndrome presented to the emergency department with worsening neck pain and stiffness of 1-week duration. Associated symptoms included headache, hoarse voice, trismus and odynophagia. The patient was haemodynamically stable without fevers or leucocytosis. He exhibited cervical spinal and paraspinal tenderness with very limited range of motion. Erythrocyte sedimentation rate and C reactive protein were elevated, and blood cultures grew methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Lumbar puncture was unremarkable. CT and MRI of the neck showed calcification of the longus colli, fluid and capsular distention of C1–C2 joints, enhancement of the joint capsule and retropharyngeal oedema suggestive of septic arthritis. Fluid was aspirated from C1 to C2 joint by interventional radiology and showed calcium pyrophosphate crystals and heavy MRSA colonisation, consistent with both pseudogout and septic arthritis of the cervical vertebrae. The patient was started on a 6-week course of daptomycin and showed gradual improvements in neck pain and mobility.


2008 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 22-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Albert J. Fenoy ◽  
Arnold H. Menezes ◽  
Kathleen A. Donovan ◽  
Stephen F. Kralik

Object Calcium pyrophosphate dihydrate (CPPD) deposition is a rare cause of retroodontoid mass lesions in elderly individuals. However, this condition may be severely underdiagnosed if sufficient attention is not paid to imaging characteristics and clinical presentation. The authors sought to evaluate the decision-making process in both the diagnosis and surgical treatment of CPPD. Methods A retrospective review of University of Iowa medical records and radiographs accumulated between 1977 and 2006 was performed. The inclusion criterion was histopathological findings consistent with pseudogout at the craniovertebral junction (CVJ). Twenty-one patients with a mean age of 70.3 years and a mean symptom duration prior to presentation of 17.5 months were identified and included in this study. Results The patients presented most frequently with occipital and neck pain (85%) and numbness or paresthesias (61%). Lower cranial nerve deficits were seen in 29%. Calcification of the mass or transverse ligament was seen on computed tomography in all included patients. Gross-total resection was achieved in all patients: 19 of 21 patients underwent transoral–transpalatopharyngeal resection, with only 16 requiring concomitant dorsal occipital–cervical fusion. The mean follow-up duration was 15 months. Eighteen patients (86%) had improvement or resolution of symptoms after treatment, and 3 were lost to follow-up. Conclusions Although rare, CPPD deposition at the CVJ should be suspected on finding calcification of and around the transverse ligament on neuroimaging. Transoral–transpalatopharyngeal resection is preferred to halt the progression of neurological deterioration; dorsal fusion is not always mandatory as concomitant ligamentous calcification and atlantoaxial joint ankylosis may provide added stability.


Radiology ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 216 (1) ◽  
pp. 213-219 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yousuke Kakitsubata ◽  
Robert D. Boutin ◽  
Daphne J. Theodorou ◽  
Roger M. Kerr ◽  
Lynne S. Steinbach ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (6) ◽  
pp. 76-83
Author(s):  
M. S. Eliseev ◽  
E. V. Cheremushkina ◽  
O. V. Zhelyabina ◽  
M. N. Chikina ◽  
A. A. Kapitonova ◽  
...  

Anti-inflammatory therapy, such as colchicine (COL), has been suggested to affect the incidence of cardiovascular events in patients with calcium pyrophosphate crystal deposition disease (CPPD).Objective: to study the effect of anti-inflammatory therapy with COL, hydroxychloroquine (HC), and methotrexate (MT) on cardiovascular outcomes in patients with CPPD.Patients and methods. The study included 305 patients with CPPD, the majority (62.30%) were women. The average follow-up period was 3.9±2.7 years. Among factors influencing cardiovascular outcome were considered: gender; age; smoking; alcohol intake >20 conventional doses per week; arterial hypertension; a history of cardiovascular diseases (CVD), in particular ischemic heart disease, acute myocardial infarction, acute cerebrovascular accident, chronic heart failure >III stage according to NYHA, as well as type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM); body mass index >25 kg/m2 and >30 kg/m2; cholesterol level (CHOL) >5.1 mmol/l; glomerular filtration rate (GFR) < 60 ml/min/1.73 m2; serum uric acid level >360 μmol/l; hypercalcemia (serum calcium level >2.62 mmol/L); CRP level >2 mg/l; the presence of hyperparathyroidism (parathyroid hormone level >65 pg/ml); CPPD phenotypes (asymptomatic, osteoarthritis with calcium pyrophosphate crystals, chronic arthritis, acute arthritis); intake of COL, HC, MT, glucocorticoids and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs).Results and discussion. 264 patients were under dynamic observation. Any of the studied cardiovascular events were registered in 79 (29.9%) patients. During the observation period, 46 (17.4%) patients died, in 76.1% of cases the cause of death was CVD. Death from other causes was diagnosed in 11 (23.9%) patients. Non-fatal cardiovascular events were reported in 44 (16.7%) cases. The risk of cardiovascular events was higher in patients over 65 years of age (odds ratio, OR 5.97; 95% confidence interval, CI 3.33–10.71), with serum cholesterol levels ≥5.1 mmol/L (OR 1,95; 95% CI 1.04–3.65), GFR <60 ml/min/1.73 m2 (OR 2.78; 95% CI 1.32–5.56), history of CVD (OR 2,32; 95% CI 1.22–4.44). COL therapy reduced the risk of cardiovascular events (OR 0.20; 95% CI 0.11–0.39).Conclusion. Poor CVD outcomes in CPPD are associated with age, hypercholesterolemia, chronic kidney disease, and a history of CVD. The use of COL, in contrast to MT and HC, was accompanied by a decrease in cardiovascular risk.


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