ABSTRACT

Objective:

The aim of the study is to evaluate information from reconstructive computed tomography parameters of the craniovertebral junction(CVJ) in asymptomatic individuals.

Materials and Method:

We inspected 98 consecutive CVJ reconstructive computed tomography scans obtained in adult patients who were admitted to our hospital for emergency treatment of non-CVJ conditions retrospectively.

Results:

98 patients (46 females, 46.9 %, and 52 males, 53.1 %) were included in the study. Accordingly, mean age was 51.7 ± 18.7 years, mean Chamberline-Odontoid Distance was 2.5 ± 1.2 mm, mean Grabb-Oakes was 6.8 ± 1.4 mm, mean Atlantodental Interval was 1.4 ± 0.5 mm, mean Foramen Magnum AP was 34.3 ± 3.2 mm, and mean Foramen Magnum Lat-Lat, Coronal was 30.0 ± 2.7 mm. When the measurements were compared between females and males, it was found that only foramen magnum anterior-posterior(AP) distance was significantly different between genders (33.1 ± 2.6 mm in females, 35.4 ± 3.4 mm in males, p=0.011), and males had larges foramen magnum AP distance values. Age (p=0.960), Chamberline-Odontoid Distance (p=0.952), Grabb-Oakes (p=0.068), Atlantodental Interval (p=0.680), and Foramen Magnum Lat-Lat Coronal (p=0.741) were similar between females and males.

Conclusions:

When evaluating CVJ malformations, surgeons should take into account the normal ranges based on computed tomography scan instead of those obtained from plain radiographs.