Brudzinski Sign(Archived)

Bacterial meningitis affects more than 1 million people per year globally and ranks as one of the top ten most deadly infectious diseases. Bacterial meningitis has a high frequency of neurologic sequelae and mortality and is treatable with antibiotics, which makes the diagnosis extremely important and time-sensitive. As compared with other febrile illnesses, bacterial meningitis is relatively rare. Because of this, many clinical tests have been described to help providers differentiate meningitis from other causes of fever and headache. Two of the most commonly used are Kernig's and Brudzinski's signs. The original report of Brudzinski's sign was in the late 1800s by Dr. Josef Brudzinski. At that time, he described four maneuvers to aid in the clinical diagnosis of meningitis. The four maneuvers he described included the Brudzinski's reflex, the cheek sign, the nape of the neck sign and the symphyseal sign. The most popular of the maneuvers is the nape of the neck sign, currently known as Brudzinski's sign.