Experience in upper cervical pathology in Guillermo Almenara-Irigoyen Hospital in Lima, Peru: 2016 – 2021

Abstract

Introduction: The C0-C1-C2 complex is responsible of axial load transition, and its biomechanical function is unique, it is affected by multiple pathological conditions; and generally speaking, the literature does not consider these conditions as a single item, it describes them according to etiology. For our study we considered five groups: trauma-related, congenital, rheumatic-inflammatory, neoplastic, and degenerative. Objective: To determine epidemiological, clinical, and therapy-related characteristics in upper cervical pathological conditions. Materials and methods: All patients with a clinical-radiological diagnosis of any upper cervical pathological condition that had undergone surgery between 2016 and 2021 in Guillermo Almenara Hospital were included. Student’s t test and chi square methods were used. Patients were divided into five groups: congenital, trauma-related, rheumatic inflammatory, degenerative, and neoplastic.    Results: Thirty-one patients were included in the study; their mean age was 51.16 years. The most frequent upper cervical pathological condition was trauma-related, with 35.48%. Motor deficit occurred in 51.61% of all patients, and sensitive deficit occurred in 54.84%. The most frequently surgical procedure performed was upper cervical fixation, in 43.89% of all patients. Complication rate was 16.13%, and mortality was 0%. Conclusions: Upper cervical pathological conditions are rare, trauma-related conditions are most frequent, but timely and adequate management allow us to achieve better functional prognosis for these patients.