Association of atlanto-occipital dislocation and retroclival haematoma in a child.
BACKGROUND
The authors present the case of a 5-year-old girl with traumatic hydrocephalus secondary to a retroclival haematoma associated with atlanto-occipital dislocation (AOD) after a motor vehicle accident. Clinical history and neuroimaging of the patient are described.


CONCLUSIONS
Computed tomography (CT) imaging of the head revealed a retroclival haematoma with secondary hydrocephalus. The cranio-cervical junction showed an AOD that was initially overlooked. Traumatic AOD is a rare diagnosis although in the recent years it has become an emergent entity due to the improvement of emergency medical treatment on the field.


CONCLUSIONS
An initial diligent imaging study and interpretation should be made to avoid misdiagnosis and to provide adequate treatment. This is the first case reported of the association of AOD, hydrocephalus and retroclival haematoma. A brief review of the literature is also presented.
Vera
Marta
M
Department of Pediatric Intensive Care, Hospital Sant Joan de Déu, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
Navarro
Ramon
R
Esteban
Elisabet
E
Costa
Josep Maria
JM
D000063:Accidents, Traffic; D001269:Atlanto-Occipital Joint / Q000293:injuries*; D020202:Cerebral Hemorrhage, Traumatic / Q000150:complications*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D017809:Fatal Outcome; D005260:Female; D015600:Glasgow Coma Scale; D006801:Humans; D006849:Hydrocephalus / Q000209:etiology; D019586:Intracranial Hypertension / Q000209:etiology; D004204:Joint Dislocations / Q000150:complications*; D019635:Neurosurgical Procedures; D013345:Subarachnoid Hemorrhage / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D017585:Ultrasonography, Doppler, Transcranial