title: Bilateral Upper Extremity Hyperesthesia and Absence of Neck Tenderness in Four Adolescent Athletes With Cervical Spine Injuries.
abstract: Cervical spine injury in the pediatric athlete is an uncommon but potentially devastating condition that can require a heightened index of suspicion to correctly diagnose. Although some cervical spine injuries present overtly with paraplegia due to cord transection, others can present more subtly with symptoms suggestive of bilateral peripheral neuropathy. Patients with traumatic brachial neuropraxia or "stinger" physiology can present similarly, but symptoms are exclusively unilateral. We present 4 patients with bilateral upper extremity hyperesthesias and absence of tenderness over the cervical vertebral landmarks who were subsequently diagnosed with cervical spine injuries.
authors.forename: Jay Douglas
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Fisher
authors.affiliation: Baylor College of Medicine, Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, TX.
authors.forename: Elizabeth Lewis
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: Thorpe
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D056352:Athletes; D001265:Athletic Injuries / Q000175:diagnosis*; D002574:Cervical Vertebrae / Q000293:injuries*; D006801:Humans; D006941:Hyperesthesia / Q000209:etiology; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009333:Neck / Q000294:innervation; D019547:Neck Pain / Q000209:etiology; D009460:Neurologic Examination / Q000379:methods; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000175:diagnosis*; D013124:Spinal Injuries / Q000175:diagnosis*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D034941:Upper Extremity / Q000294:innervation