Case report: “an unexpected origin of coma in a young adult”

Abstract We report a peculiar case of acute non-traumatic coma due to neuromuscular hypoventilation syndrome caused by a non-traumatic spinal cord injury (NTSCI). A 21-year-old patient presented to the emergency room complaining of sudden onset weakness in his lower limbs and shortness of breath. Wh...

Descripción completa

Guardado en:
Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Ranjana Chandrikasing, Sudeshkoemar Ramnarain, Rakesh Bansie, Harvey Yang, Huibert Ponssen, Navin Ramdhani
Formato: article
Lenguaje:EN
Publicado: BMC 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://doaj.org/article/be882a7b4c48495d8b445b5262d5a9c3
Etiquetas: Agregar Etiqueta
Sin Etiquetas, Sea el primero en etiquetar este registro!
Descripción
Sumario:Abstract We report a peculiar case of acute non-traumatic coma due to neuromuscular hypoventilation syndrome caused by a non-traumatic spinal cord injury (NTSCI). A 21-year-old patient presented to the emergency room complaining of sudden onset weakness in his lower limbs and shortness of breath. While in the ER, he briefly became comatose and labs revealed an acute respiratory acidosis. Detailed neurologic examination ultimately revealed upper motor neuron signs and quadriplegia. He was ultimately diagnosed with a non-traumatic spinal cord injury, in particular, a cervical transverse myelitis which had caused acute diaphragmatic weakness. Although a very rare cause of coma, emergency medicine physicians need to be aware of transverse myelitis, a disorder that may result in rapidly progressive neurologic decline and is treated with immunomodulation.