Asian Journal of Research and Reports in Neurology

Case Report: Compressive Cervical Radiculopathy Caused by Spontaneous Bilateral Vertebral Artery Dissection

Marcela Canio S.

Departamento de Ciencias Neurológicas Oriente, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile.

Cynthia Mendoza S.

Departamento de Ciencias Neurológicas Oriente, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile.

Natalia Albornoz H.

Departamento de Ciencias Neurológicas Oriente, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile.

Daniel Andreu O.

Departamento de Ciencias Neurológicas Oriente, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile and Servicio de Neurología, Clínica Santa María, Santiago, Chile.

Pablo Reyes Sánchez *

Departamento de Ciencias Neurológicas Oriente, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile and Servicio de Neurología, Clínica Santa María, Santiago, Chile.

*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

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Abstract

Cervical artery dissection accounts for almost 20% of ischemic strokes in young patients. Vertebral artery dissection is considered less common than carotid dissection, and 18% of cases are bilateral. The typical presentation is posterior neck pain, holocranial or frontal headache, and focal neurological manifestations if a secondary ischemic event occurred. Compressive radiculopathy is a rare complication of vertebral artery dissection and C5 is the most commonly affected root. We report two cases of cervical radiculopathy, a rare complication of vertebral artery dissection.

Keywords: Stroke, vertebral artery dissection, carotid artery, internal, dissection, radiculopathy

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