Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Air in the spinal canal after skull base fracture

2002; Elsevier BV; Volume: 20; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1053/ajem.2001.29554

1532-8171

Joji Inamasu, Yoshiki Nakamura, Ryoichi Saito, Y. Kuroshima, Kiyoshi Ichikizaki,

Restraint-Related Deaths

Pneumorrachis (PR) is characterized by the presence of air within the spinal canal. It can be classified descriptively into internal or intradural and external or epidural. The causes of PR can be divided as iatrogenic, nontraumatic and traumatic.In the present study, a comprehensive literature search was conducted to identify all previous cases of PR after an isolate head injury. Two additional cases were also reported. We concluded, that PR after isolated head injuries is a rare but likely an underdiagnosed entity. It is a marker of severe injury and the majority of such patients have a poor outcome. Although, PR is usually asymptomatic and reabsorbs spontaneously, prompt recognition and management of the underlying cause is essential. Therefore, clinicians should maintain a high level of suspicion for serious underlying injury in cases where initial radiological imaging reveals intraspinal air.