RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Calcium pyrophosphate dihydrate crystal deposition disease and MRSA septic arthritis of the atlantoaxial joint in a patient with Tourette syndrome
JF BMJ Case Reports
JO BMJ Case Reports
FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd
SP e228102
DO 10.1136/bcr-2018-228102
VO 12
IS 3
A1 Edward Nicholas Northrup
A1 Benjamin Robert Pflederer
YR 2019
UL http://casereports.bmj.com/content/12/3/e228102.abstract
AB A 45-year-old male patient with Tourette syndrome presented to the emergency department with worsening neck pain and stiffness of 1-week duration. Associated symptoms included headache, hoarse voice, trismus and odynophagia. The patient was haemodynamically stable without fevers or leucocytosis. He exhibited cervical spinal and paraspinal tenderness with very limited range of motion. Erythrocyte sedimentation rate and C reactive protein were elevated, and blood cultures grew methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Lumbar puncture was unremarkable. CT and MRI of the neck showed calcification of the longus colli, fluid and capsular distention of C1–C2 joints, enhancement of the joint capsule and retropharyngeal oedema suggestive of septic arthritis. Fluid was aspirated from C1 to C2 joint by interventional radiology and showed calcium pyrophosphate crystals and heavy MRSA colonisation, consistent with both pseudogout and septic arthritis of the cervical vertebrae. The patient was started on a 6-week course of daptomycin and showed gradual improvements in neck pain and mobility.