Experience in upper cervical pathology in Guillermo Almenara-Irigoyen Hospital in Lima, Peru: 2016 – 2021

• Autores: Vargas Urbina, John F., Martinez Silva, Raúl E., Urquizo Rodríguez, José Luis, Basurco Carpio, Alfonso
• Formato: artículo
• Fecha de Publicación: 2023
• Institución: Colegio Médico del Perú
• Repositorio: Acta Médica Peruana
• Lenguaje: español
• OAI Identifier: oai:ojs.pkp.sfu.ca:article/2483
• Enlace del recurso: https://amp.cmp.org.pe/index.php/AMP/article/view/2483
• Nivel de acceso: acceso abierto
• Materia: Cervical Vertebrae; Odontoid Process; Arthritis Rheumatoid; Arnold-Chiari Malformation; Osteoarthritis Spine; Spinal Fractures

Introduction: The C0-C1-C2 complex is responsible of axial load transition, and its biomechanical function is unique, it is affected by multiple pathological conditions; and generally speaking, the literature does not consider these conditions as a single item, it describes them according to etiology. For our study we considered five groups: trauma-related, congenital, rheumatic-inflammatory, neoplastic, and degenerative. Objective: To determine epidemiological, clinical, and therapy-related characteristics in upper cervical pathological conditions. Materials and methods: All patients with a clinical-radiological diagnosis of any upper cervical pathological condition that had undergone surgery between 2016 and 2021 in Guillermo Almenara Hospital were included. Student’s t test and chi square methods were used. Patients were divided into five groups: congenital, trauma-related, rheumatic inflammatory, degenerative, and neoplastic.    Results: Thirty-one patients were included in the study; their mean age was 51.16 years. The most frequent upper cervical pathological condition was trauma-related, with 35.48%. Motor deficit occurred in 51.61% of all patients, and sensitive deficit occurred in 54.84%. The most frequently surgical procedure performed was upper cervical fixation, in 43.89% of all patients. Complication rate was 16.13%, and mortality was 0%. Conclusions: Upper cervical pathological conditions are rare, trauma-related conditions are most frequent, but timely and adequate management allow us to achieve better functional prognosis for these patients.