Right-sided infective endocarditis as a potentially fatal complication in patients with long-term refractory severe bradyarrhythmia after cervical spinal cord injury: A case report

AbstractBradyarrhythmia is usually a spontaneously subsiding complication of cervical spinal cord injury. However, in severe cases, it can lead to cardiac arrest. We report a case of cervical spinal cord injury, complicated by right-sided infective endocarditis after the placement of a temporary pacing catheter in the right ventricle for severe bradyarrhythmia that led to cardiac arrest. Although the patient׳s condition was successfully treated by pacing catheter removal and pharmacological therapy, right-sided infective endocarditis would be a fatal complication in cases of cervical spinal cord injury where cardiac pacing is required for long-term refractory severe bradyarrhythmia

Bilateral spondylolysis of inferior articular processes of the fourth lumbar vertebra: a case report

Lumbar spondylolysis, a well known cause of low back pain, usually affects the pars interarticularis of a lower lumbar vertebra and rarely involves the articular processes. We report a rare case of bilateral spondylolysis of inferior articular processes of L4 vertebra that caused spinal canal stenosis with a significant segmental instability at L4/5 and scoliosis. A 31-year-old male who had suffered from low back pain since he was a teenager presented with numbness of the right lower leg and scoliosis. Plain X-rays revealed bilateral spondylolysis of inferior articular processes of L4, anterolisthesis of the L4 vertebral body, and right lateral wedging of the L4/5 disc with compensatory scoliosis in the cephalad portion of the spine. MR images revealed spinal canal stenosis at the L4/5 disc level. Posterior lumbar interbody fusion of the L4/5 was performed, and his symptoms were relieved