AUTHOR=Igami Eriko , Fukae Jiro , Kanazawa Kazo , Fuse Atsuhito , Nakajima Asuka , Eguchi Hiroto , Hattori Nobutaka , Shimo Yasushi TITLE=Two rare diseases, acute calcific retropharyngeal tendinitis, and crowned dens syndrome, mimicking meningitis: A case report JOURNAL=Frontiers in Neurology VOLUME=13 YEAR=2022 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/neurology/articles/10.3389/fneur.2022.946222 DOI=10.3389/fneur.2022.946222 ISSN=1664-2295 ABSTRACT=

We report two rare cases. One involved acute calcific retropharyngeal tendinitis, an inflammatory condition of the longus colli tendon triggered by the deposition of calcium hydroxyapatite crystals. The other involved crowned dens syndrome, caused by pseudogout of the atlantoaxial junction following deposition of calcium pyrophosphate dehydrate or calcium hydroxyapatite. Although these two diseases involve different mechanisms, the common symptoms of neck pain and fever resemble those of meningitis. Accurate diagnosis can thus be difficult without background knowledge of these conditions. Cerebrospinal fluid examination and cervical computed tomography are useful for distinguishing these pathologies from meningitis.