Traumatic cervical artery dissection

Abstract

Traumatic cervical artery dissection (TCAD) is a complication of severe blunt head or neck trauma, the main cause being motor vehicle accidents. TCAD are increasingly recognized, and incidences of up to 0.86% for internal carotid and 0.53% for traumatic vertebral artery dissections (TVAD) among blunt trauma victims are reported. Diagnostic evaluation for TCAD is mandatory in the presence of (1) hemorrhage of potential arterial origin originating from the nose, ears, mouth, or a wound; (2) expanding cervical hematoma; (3) cervical bruit in a patient >50 years of age; (4) evidence of acute infarct at brain imaging; (5) unexplained central or lateralizing neurological deficit or transient ischemic attack, or (6) Horner syndrome, neck or head pain. In addition, a number of centers screen asymptomatic patients with blunt trauma for TCAD. Catheter angiography is the standard of reference for diagnosis of TCAD. Color duplex ultrasound, computed tomographic, and magnetic resonance angiography are noninvasive screening alternatives, but each method has its diagnostic limitations compared to catheter angiography. Anticoagulants and antiplatelet drugs may prevent ischemic stroke, but bleeding from traumatized tissues may offset the benefits of antithrombotic treatment. Endovascular therapy of dissected vessels, thrombarterectomy, direct suture of intimal tears, and extracranial-intracranial bypass should be considered in exceptional cases. Neurological outcome is probably worse in TCAD compared to spontaneous CAD, although it is unclear whether this is due to dissection-induced ischemic stroke or associated traumatic lesions.