%0 Journal Article
%T Fractured cervical spine, dissected vertebral artery, and life-threatening stroke: A challenging case report and literature review.
%A Choucha A
%A Barraque T
%A Meyer M
%A Dufour H
%A Farah K
%A Fuentes S
%J Neurochirurgie
%V 70
%N 4
%D 2024 Jul 16
%M 38621474
%F 1.725
%R 10.1016/j.neuchi.2024.101561
%X <B>BACKGROUND: </B>Vertebral artery injury (VAI) following blunt trauma can lead to acute or delayed life-threatening posterior fossa ischemic stroke. Its management raises controversial issues and is still open to debate.<BR><B>METHODS: </B>We report the case of a 48-year-old male who presented a life-threatening posterior circulation ischemic stroke, secondary to a vertebral artery dissection caused by a cervical spine fracture. This case was successfully managed through intravenous thrombolysis and endovascular thrombectomy followed by antiplatelet therapy and an anterior cervical discectomy and fusion. At the one-year follow-up, the patient had no persisting deficit and was back working as a policeman.<BR><B>CONCLUSIONS: </B>Rapid management of patients with dramatic clinical presentation can lead to full recovery. Implications include a systematic screening of blunt trauma VAI through computed tomography angiography when dealing with high-risk cervical spine fractures; patients harboring both a cervical spine fracture and a VAI must be transferred to a tertiary referral hospital able to deal both with strokes and cervical spine surgery to ensure responsiveness in case of stroke.