Weekly Case Study: Case 17

28 year-old woman is evaluated for development of painless burns on both hands and arms. She has had neck pain since she had whiplash following neck injury one year ago.

NE

wasting of intrinsic hand muscles
spastic legs
absent biceps and triceps reflex
pendular knee jerks
clonus (sustained) at ankles
bilateral plantar extensor response
loss of temperature and pinprick over posterior neck, and shoulders and extending to arms in shawl distribution.
normal vibration and position sense
normal cranial nerves

Images

Questions:

  1. Explain sensory findings.

  2. Explain wasting in hands and spasticity in legs.

  3. Why did patient burns hands?

  4. With dissemination of findings in space, could patient have MS?

  5. What does MRI show?

  6. What treatment is indicated?

  7. What is relation of MRI shown lesion to motor vehicle accident?

  8. Following whiplash injury, patient develops left thumb numbness, absent triceps reflex and weakness of elbow extension, what is likely mechanism?

  9. Following slip and fall injury on wet floor, patient develops "lumbago" and "sciatica".   What does this mean and what finding might you expect on examination?

Return to Case Study Main Page

Films CT17 (2) - Revised 7/5/2005