title: Traumatic dissection of the internal carotid artery.
abstract: We present the case of an 11-year-old male who had a dissection of his left internal carotid artery following a rather innocuous mechanism of injury. Although this phenomenon is documented in the medical literature, it remains a relatively rare event following blunt injury to the head and neck (0.3% occurrence rate in 1 study spanning 7 years). (Despite its rarity, it remains an important cause of cerebrovascular accidents in children. 2) Children presenting with gross neurologic abnormalities following blunt trauma to the head or neck should be considered to have sustained injury to the carotid arteries until proven otherwise.
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, Geisinger Medical Center, Danville, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Thomas F
authors.initials: TF
authors.lastname: Payton
authors.forename: Khan M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Siddiqui
authors.forename: David P
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Sole
authors.forename: David F
authors.initials: DF
authors.lastname: McKinley
mesh_terms: D000058:Accidental Falls; D020144:Basal Ganglia Cerebrovascular Disease / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology*; D002545:Brain Ischemia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology; D002343:Carotid Artery, Internal; D020215:Carotid Artery, Internal, Dissection / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology*; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000098:blood supply*; D002544:Cerebral Infarction / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology*; D002648:Child; D003221:Confusion / Q000209:etiology; D004630:Emergencies; D020234:Gait Ataxia / Q000209:etiology; D006261:Headache / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D019838:Neck Injuries / Q000150:complications*; D012420:Running / Q000293:injuries*; D013064:Speech Disorders / Q000209:etiology; D014949:Wounds, Nonpenetrating / Q000150:complications*