Observational study of patients with occipital condyle fracture at a brazilian referral trauma center.

OBJECTIVE

to evaluate the clinical-epidemiological characteristics, treatment, and evolution of patients with occipital condyle fracture (OCF) at one of the largest referral trauma centers in Latin America.

METHODS

this was a retrospective observational study of OCF identified from trauma cases admitted between December 2011 and December 2019 by the neurosurgery team at a Type 3 trauma center.

RESULTS

a total of twenty-eight occipital condyle fractures were identified in twenty-six patients. The incidence was less than 0.2% per year and more common in male patients (4:1 ratio) involved in traffic accidents. The mean age was 42.08 years. Anderson and Montesano type II and Tuli type 1 were the most frequent (67.9% and 89.3%, respectively) and no case presented C0-C1-C2 instability. All patients were treated with a cervical collar for 3 to 6 months. About 65% of the patients exhibited good progression (Glasgow Outcome Scale equal to 4), and the severity of traumatic brain injury was the main determinant for negative outcomes.

CONCLUSION

the findings of this study are in accordance with available literature data. The use of external stabilization with a cervical collar is reinforced for the treatment of stable lesions, even when these are bilateral. Assessment of the patients' follow-up results in the studied sample may contribute with useful information for the treatment of occipital condyle fractures.