Crowned dens syndrome: An uncommon mimic of meningitis in the emergency department

Abstract

Crowned dens syndrome is characterized by severe neck pain with stiffness of the neck, sometime febrile, due to calcification of the transverse atlas ligament. We describe the case of a 65-year-old woman referred to the emergency department with a suspicion of meningitis. Several anamnestic and clinical signs ruled out this hypothesis. Re-evaluation of the CT images enabled us to reach the final diagnosis of crowned dens syndrome.

Keywords: Cervicalgia; Crowned dens syndrome; Inflammatory syndrome; Pseudomeningitis - emergency.