title: Insidious onset neck pain - a symptom not to be dismissed.
abstract: Chronic neck pain is an extremely common symptom in the general population. Most cases have underlying musculoskeletal aetiologies and are managed conservatively. However, a very small number of patients presenting with chronic neck pain will have significant underlying pathology, e. g. a spinal cord tumour. Intramedullary spinal cord tumours are uncommon at all ages, particularly in adults, and there are some controversies in their treatment. The case of an 18-year-old man with chronic neck pain who was subsequently shown to have a pilocytic intramedullary astrocytoma is presented. This report highlights the need to consider rare, but potentially serious, diagnoses in individuals presenting with non-resolving, but seemingly innocent, symptoms over a prolonged period.
authors.affiliation: Department of Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgery, Kent and Canterbury Hospital, Canterbury, UK. t.ahmed@doctors.org.uk
authors.forename: T S
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: Ahmed
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Oliver
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Blackburn
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001254:Astrocytoma / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery; D002574:Cervical Vertebrae; D002908:Chronic Disease; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D019547:Neck Pain / Q000209:etiology* / Q000601:surgery; D013120:Spinal Cord Neoplasms / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery; D013904:Thoracic Vertebrae