Abstract
In this study, eleven cases with sports-related traumatic occlusive cerebrovascular accident (OCVA) are investigated to clarify clinical characteristics by reviewing following clinical factors: age, gender, mechanism of trauma, symptom, type of sports, duration between the time of injury and outpatient visit or diagnosis, type and site of vascular injury, co-existent traumatic intracranial lesion, treatment, and outcome. Traumatic OCVAs were accounted for 9.1% of sports-related TBI, as 1.1% of other TBIs than sports-related. It is more common in male than female. Histogram of age distribution demonstrated a peak at the age of 5-14 y.o. Cervical hyperextension and/or hyper-rotation was the most common mechanism of injury. Head and/or neck pain immediately after trauma was the most common initial symptom. The most frequent vascular lesion was an arterial dissection of internal carotid or vertebral artery. Antiplatelets or anticoagulants were introduced for treatment in cases without traumatic intracranial hematoma. Favorable outcomes were obtained in most cases, however, permanent neurological deficits were remained in 3 cases. Since delay in the introduction of treatment results in poor functional outcome, an early visit of outpatient are quite important in patients with sports-related traumatic OCVAs, as well as the standardization of diagnostic algorithm.
