Abstract
BACKGROUND
Several injuries in the cervical region as complications of acupuncture have been previously reported in the literature, including cord and medulla oblongata injuries, subdural empyema, and cervical hematoma. Spinal cord subdural hematoma is a rare condition mainly associated with coagulopathy, trauma, and iatrogenic procedures. We herein report an acute cervical subdural hematoma after cervical acupuncture for neck and shoulder pain.
CASE DESCRIPTION
A 74-year-old woman presented with progressive quadriparesis and sensory deficit after receiving acupuncture in the neck and shoulder. Magnetic resonance imaging of the cervical spine showed a subdural lesion that was a hyperintense mass in the T1-weighted and hypointense in T2-weighted images at the C4-C6 level, which proved to be an early subacute subdural hematoma. After surgical evacuation of the hematoma, the patient had significant neurologic improvement.
CONCLUSIONS
Although rare, cervical spinal cord hematomas are disastrous complications of cervical acupuncture. These procedures should be performed under direct observation of trained physicians with appropriate knowledge of cervical anatomy to avoid these complications.
TY - JOUR
T1 - An Acute Cervical Subdural Hematoma as the Complication of Acupuncture: Case Report and Literature Review.
AU - Eghbal,Keyvan,
AU - Ghaffarpasand,Fariborz,
Y1 - 2016/08/31/
PY - 2016/07/24/received
PY - 2016/08/18/revised
PY - 2016/08/20/accepted
PY - 2016/9/4/pubmed
PY - 2017/10/3/medline
PY - 2016/9/4/entrez
KW - Acupuncture
KW - Cervical
KW - Complication
KW - Subdural hematoma
SP - 616.e11
EP - 616.e13
JF - World neurosurgery
JO - World Neurosurg
VL - 95
N2 - BACKGROUND: Several injuries in the cervical region as complications of acupuncture have been previously reported in the literature, including cord and medulla oblongata injuries, subdural empyema, and cervical hematoma. Spinal cord subdural hematoma is a rare condition mainly associated with coagulopathy, trauma, and iatrogenic procedures. We herein report an acute cervical subdural hematoma after cervical acupuncture for neck and shoulder pain. CASE DESCRIPTION: A 74-year-old woman presented with progressive quadriparesis and sensory deficit after receiving acupuncture in the neck and shoulder. Magnetic resonance imaging of the cervical spine showed a subdural lesion that was a hyperintense mass in the T1-weighted and hypointense in T2-weighted images at the C4-C6 level, which proved to be an early subacute subdural hematoma. After surgical evacuation of the hematoma, the patient had significant neurologic improvement. CONCLUSIONS: Although rare, cervical spinal cord hematomas are disastrous complications of cervical acupuncture. These procedures should be performed under direct observation of trained physicians with appropriate knowledge of cervical anatomy to avoid these complications.
SN - 1878-8769
UR - https://www.unboundmedicine.com/medline/citation/27591101/An_Acute_Cervical_Subdural_Hematoma_as_the_Complication_of_Acupuncture:_Case_Report_and_Literature_Review_
DB - PRIME
DP - Unbound Medicine
ER -