Pneumorrhachis: A Rare Prognostic Lesson

Author Info

Rosa Sun Imran Haq

Corresponding Author

Rosa Sun
Department of Neurosurgery, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham, UK

A B S T R A C T

Objective: We present a case of poly-traumatic epidural pneumorrhachis of an 87-year-old gentleman who had unremarkable neurology on presentation. We give an overview of aetiology and indications for intervention in pneumorrhachis. Background: Pneumorrhachis is the presence of air within the spinal canal, aetiologically it is widely variable though its observation in practice is rare. Methods: Descriptive. Results: We show figures illustrating CT images of pneumorrhachis at C3/4 level. The patient underwent progressive neurological deterioration over the course of four days on intensive care, and subsequently passed away. Conclusion: The presence of pneumorrhachis is well known to be associated with poor prognosis, and in our case predicted his subsequent neurological decline despite initial presentation. The presence of pneumorrhachis also serves as an important clue for hidden injuries.

Article Info

Article Type

Case Report

Publication history

Received: Sat 04, Sep 2021
Accepted: Fri 24, Dec 2021
Published: Thu 30, Dec 2021

Copyright

© 2023 Rosa Sun. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Hosting by Science Repository.
DOI: 10.31487/j.SCR.2021.12.03