Retropharyngeal calcific tendinitis presenting with neck pain and severe dysphagia: A case report

Abstract

We herein describe a 45-year-old man with posterior neck pain and severe dysphagia secondary to retropharyngeal calcific tendinitis. Brain stem infarction as a result of vertebral artery dissection was suspected, but head magnetic resonance imaging showed no acute ischemic lesion. Sagittal T2-weighted neck magnetic resonance imaging showed a retropharyngeal fluid collection from C2 to C8, and neck computed tomography showed calcification at the tendon of the longus colli muscle. Based on these characteristic imaging findings, retropharyngeal calcific tendinitis was diagnosed. Neurologists should remember that retropharyngeal calcific tendinitis can cause neck pain and severe dysphagia, and mimic brain stem infarction as a result of vertebral artery dissection.