Fracture of cervical spine in ankylosing spondylitis

A patient with thirty years old history of ankylosing spondylitis sustained a head and neck injury after a fall. The patient transmitted to the emergency department and after clinical  examination and x-rays of the head and spine no evidence of fracture occurred. The patient discharged from the emergency department.

For the next three months complained for neck pain and numbness of the upper arms. New x-rays and MRI of cervical spine revealed a burst fracture of the C7 vertebra. The patient is treated in a cervical collar Philadelphia type.

Fractures of spine are easily obtained in patients with ankylosing spondylitis due to osteoporosis and altered biomechanics. Cervical spine fractures are usually hapen in C6-C7 vertebra are unstable and frequently have neurological complications. Doctors must be aware of this complication when they examine patients with A.S. even after a minor trauma.

Last Updated ( Friday, 18 April 2008 )