Torticollis as the Presenting Sign in Cervical Spine Infection and Tumor

Abstract

This report presents five patients with cervical-area infection and four with spinal cord tumors who presented with torticollis early in the course of their illnesses. three children were found to have osteomyelitis of the cervical spine; two, retropharyngeal abscess; two, intramedullary astrocytoma; one, extradural neuroblastoma; and one, extradural sarcoma. Though torticollis is most frequently a benign condition, its persistence or its association with other objective findings should lead to search for an etiologic basis.

Syringomyelic dystonia and athetosis

“…Other cases of secondary torticollis have been related to intramedullary spinal cord disease such as ependymoma, glioma, and inflammatory demyelination. [3][4][5][6][7] Some of these resolved with removal of the spinal tumor. One case of athetosis-dystonia has been reported secondary to an intramedullary tumor, but the outcome was not stated.…”

Movement Disorder Emergencies

“…Neoplastic torticollis: Rare presentation of spinal cord tumours 11 . Chiropractic manipulation prior to diagnosis trigger respiratory arrest and quadriplegia .…”

Movement disorder emergencies

“…Torticollis is a rare presentation of spinal cord tumor [95,134]. Visudhiphan et al [134] reported four children with spinal cord tumors (two astrocytomas, one neuroblastoma and one epidural sarcoma) in which torticollis was a prominent presenting sign -in one case torticollis preceded other neurologic signs by 1 month.…”

“…Visudhiphan et al [134] reported four children with spinal cord tumors (two astrocytomas, one neuroblastoma and one epidural sarcoma) in which torticollis was a prominent presenting sign -in one case torticollis preceded other neurologic signs by 1 month. Shafir and Kaufman [122] reported a disaster in an infant with congenital torticollis due to a spinal cord astrocytoma.…”