title: Elevated inflammatory laboratory parameters in spontaneous cervical artery dissection as compared to traumatic dissection: a retrospective case-control study.
abstract: Several studies have reported infection as a possible risk factor for cervical artery dissection (CAD). We retrospectively analyzed several inflammatory parameters of CAD patients with the aim of detecting differences between spontaneous (n = 25) and traumatic (n = 18) CAD. In this case-control study, we observed significantly higher absolute leucocyte values (10.3 versus 8.1 G/L; p = 0.02) as well as an elevated frequency of leucocytosis (64% versus 28%; p = 0.02) and elevated CRP (60% versus 28%; p = 0.04) in patients without a history of trauma ("spontaneous" CAD) compared with patients with trauma-related CAD. As the elevated inflammatory laboratory parameters were not associated with an elevated infection rate, these findings imply a role of an acute inflammation as a pathogenetic factor in spontaneous CAD. The cause and mechanism of the inflammatory process remain unknown.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Klinikum Rechts der Isar, Technical University of Munich, Möhlstrasse 28, 81675 München, Germany. forsterkatrin@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Katrin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Forster
authors.forename: Holger
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Poppert
authors.forename: Bastian
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Conrad
authors.forename: Dirk
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Sander
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000150:complications / Q000378:metabolism*; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000378:metabolism; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation / Q000378:metabolism*; D007958:Leukocyte Count / Q000379:methods; D007962:Leukocytes / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D020217:Vertebral Artery Dissection / Q000209:etiology / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D002097:C-Reactive Protein