Abstract
Objective:
Our aim is to describe an unusual pattern of craniocervical pneumatization resulting in a spontaneous fracture in a patient, who presented with tinnitus.
Methods:
Temporal CT was ordered in a patient with tinnitus lasting over a year. His audiogram was normal. No history of previous trauma, recent flight, diving, or weight lifting was present. Further questioning revealed his habitual Valsalva maneuvers to relieve symptoms of nasal congestion.
Results:
Temporal CT showed abnormal pneumatization of the occipital bone and C1 vertebra. A definite cortical defect resulted with the presence of air around the neighboring soft tissues. The emphysema was most prominent in the suboccipital fossa but it was also seen in the epidural space of the spinal canal.
Conclusion:
Abnormal pneumatization of the skull base and cervical vertebra can be symptomatic due to its tendency to fracture. The presumed cause of pneumatization in this patient is habitual Valsalva maneuvers.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
