Opisthotonus: Causes & Reasons

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Possible Causes for opisthotonus

Meningitis

[…] neck (generally not present in children under the age of one year or in patients with altered mental state), back rigidity, bulging fontanelle (in infants), photophobia, opisthotonus [patient.info]

Epilepsy

The purpose of this article is to highlight the hallmarks of epilepsy as a disease and symptom during antiquity and especially during Ancient Greece and Rome. A thorough study of texts, medical books, and reports along with a review of the available literature in PubMed was undertaken. Observations on epilepsy date[…] [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

Hysteria

Wellcome L0033539.jpg 2 272 3 752; 1,64 MB Opisthotonus in a patient suffering from tetanus - Painting by Sir Charles Bell - 1809.jpg 610 396; 25 KB Ostendorfer Madonna in [commons.wikimedia.org]

Strychnine Poisoning

The clinical features mimic tetanus with sense of suffocation, twitching of muscles, followed by tetanic convulsions and opisthotonus, each lasting half to two minutes. [medchrome.com]

This may manifest as painful grimacing (the sardonic smile of risus sardonicus ) or back arching (opisthotonus). [lifeinthefastlane.com]

A phenomenon, called opisthotonus may also occur, in which severe contraction of the paraspinal muscles causes a characteristic arching posture of the neck and back. [calpoison.org]

Neonatal Meningitis

Signs suggestive of meningeal irritation, including stiff neck, bulging fontanelle, convulsions, and opisthotonus, occur only in a minority of neonates with bacterial meningitis [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

Gaucher Disease

Type 2 GD patients suffer significant progressive neurological impairment, including spasticity, opisthotonus, seizure, and apnea. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

[doi.org] Opisthotonus Type 2 GD patients suffer significant progressive neurological impairment, including spasticity, opisthotonus, seizure, and apnea. [symptoma.com]

[emedicine.medscape.com] Type 2 GD patients suffer significant progressive neurological impairment, including spasticity, opisthotonus, seizure, and apnea. [symptoma.com]

Stiff-Person Syndrome

OBJECTIVE: We report a case of a 58-year-old man suffering from stiff-person syndrome and recurrent peripheral vertigo. METHOD: A case report and a review of the recent literature on stiff-person syndrome are presented. RESULTS: The patient presented with recurrent episodes of vertigo with a pure peripheral[…] [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

Gaucher Disease Type 2

A progressively downhill course ensued, characterized by opisthotonus and respiratory difficulties, and the child died at age 7 months. [pediatrics.aappublications.org]

Type 2 is the infantile neuronopathic form, which is characterized by trismus, strabismus, ocular motor apraxia, opisthotonus and death by about two years. [collections.lib.utah.edu]

[…] patients have hepatosplenomegaly similar to type 1, but develop also neurological manifestations (stridor, strabismus and other oculomotor abnormalities, swallowing difficulty, opisthotonus [neuropathology-web.org]

Phenothiazine Poisoning

[…] effects most frequently reported with phenothiazine compounds are extrapyramidal symptoms including pseudo-parkinsonism, dystonia, dyskinesia, akathisia, oculogyric crises, opisthotonus [home.intekom.com]

[…] flushing,diaphoresis diarrhea fever Difficult to distinguish from NMS, MH, cocaine intoxication, thyroid storm Extrapyramidal haloperidol, phenothiazines rigidity, tremor opisthotonus [mcgill.ca]

Hyperreflexia, tremor, myoclonus, trismus • Ataxia, incoordination • Flushing, diaphoresis, fever • Diarrhea Extrapyramidal: haloperidol, phenothiazines • Rigidity, tremor • Opisthotonus [slideshare.net]

Uremia

Tuberous sclerosis (TS) is characterized by the triade of epilepsy, mental retardation, and adenoma sebaceum. Although the kidneys are affected in 40-80% of the patients uremia is a rare finding. We here describe a family with TS, where uremia was a major feature of the disease, causing the death of 2 family[…] [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

Encephalopathy

Posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome is an encephalopathy that can be clinically characterized by headache, altered mental status and/or seizures. Neuroimaging demonstrates usually reversible bilateral subcortical vasogenic occipital-parietal edema. Exact pathophysiology remains unclear but is commonly[…] [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

Kernicterus

[…] and hypotonia followed by hypertonia are some of the earliest symptoms seen in acute disease, whereas abnormal extension of the neck (retrocollis), generalized aching and opisthotonus [symptoma.com]

Babies with bilirubin encephalopathy are lethargic, hypotonic or hypertonic, and have a high pitched cry, opisthotonus, seizures, and may die if bilirubin is not lowered. [neuropathology-web.org]

These include lethargy, decreased feeding, hypotonia or hypertonia, a high-pitched cry, spasmodic torticollis, opisthotonus, setting sun sign, fever, seizures, and even death [en.wikipedia.org]

Brain Edema

This site uses cookies, tags, and tracking settings to store information that help give you the very best browsing experience. Dismiss this warning Rhoton Anatomy Links Abstract Full Text PDF Cerebral edema is frequently encountered in clinical practice in critically ill patients with acute brain injury from diverse[…] [doi.org]

Cerebral Lipidosis

Two days after admission, opisthotonus accompanied with loss of con- sciousness was noted. [docslide.net]

Scorpion Sting

[…] potentiate venom toxicity, and should be avoided; atropine is used to combat parasympathetic effects scorpion sting A toxic systemic response to scorpion venom Clinical SOB, opisthotonus [medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com]

Tetanus

During hospitalization, the patient's clinical conditions worsened rapidly, and, although in absence of the classic clinical presentation (trisma, nuchal rigidity, and opisthotonus [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

The diagnosis of tetanus was clinically made after the appearance of generalized spastic contractions with opisthotonus. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

The diagnosis of generalized tetanus was made on the basis of generalized contractures with opisthotonus, trismus, and autonomic nervous system dysfunction. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

Brain Stem Herniation

Abstract Patients with terminal brain stem herniation experience global physiological consequences and represent a challenging population in critical care practice as a result of multiple factors. The first factor is severe depression of consciousness, with resulting compromise in airway stability and lung ventilation.[…] [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

Tay-Sachs Disease

The fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) brain findings on a 6-year-old with Tay-Sachs disease are presented. These findings were compared with the FNAC findings on identical areas of a normal brain. Copious material was obtained from both cases. Marked loss of neurons, prominent gliosis, reactive microglia and[…] [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

Tetanus Neonatorum

Related Concepts SNOMET-CT Tetanus neonatorum (disorder) Tetanic opisthotonus (disorder) Age at onset of clinical finding (observable entity) 29.0 days ICD-10-CM Alphabetical [icd.codes]

[…] due to trismus and an inability to swallow, excessive crying caused by hunger, rigidity and generalized muscle spasms induced by touch, including those of the face, and opisthotonus [symptoma.com]

LXXI NO. 12 On examination the baby is found to have trismus, and, if in a more advanced stage of disease, may have developed generalised rigidity with opisthotonus. [kundoc.com]

Drug-induced Dystonia

On the torso, distortion of the spine, opisthotonus, as well as a tortipelvic crisis, which involves rigidity of the pelvic and abdominal musculature, can occur. [symptoma.com]

[…] acute dystonia Oculogyric crisis Spasm of the extraorbital muscles, causing upwards and outwards deviation of the eyes Blephorospasm Torticollis Head held turned to one side Opisthotonus [nps.org.au]

[…] crisis Spasm of the extraorbital muscles, causing upwards and outwards deviation of the eyes Blepharospasm (twitching of eyelid) Torticollis Head held turned on one side Opisthotonus [bpac.org.nz]

Cold-Induced Sweating Syndrome Type 1

Affected infants show a tendency to startle, with contractions of the facial muscles in response to tactile stimuli or during crying, trismus, abundant salivation, and opisthotonus [uniprot.org]

Classic Maple Syrup Urine Disease

Progressive encephalopathy with lethargy, intermittent apnea, stereotyped movements (described as "fencing" and bicycling") and opisthotonus occur in the first few days of [orpha.net]

[…] life with poor feeding and drowsiness followed by a worsening encephalopathy with lethargy, intermittent apnea, stereotypic movements (“”fencing”” and ”bicycling””) and opisthotonus [tellmegen.com]

Adult Krabbe Disease

R184C ( c.550C T ) 13 F 4 months 11 months Regression, mild axial hypotonia, hypertonia of the extremities, opisthotonus, CSF protein, abnormal MRI – 0.0 380 p.I250T (c.749T [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

[…] megalencephaly, psychomotor retardation, loss of vision, abnormal MRI – 0.03 75 p.I250T (c.749T C)/p.I250T (c.749T C) 9 F 4.5 months 6.5 months Irritability, hypertonia, opisthotonus [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

Arnold-Chiari Malformation Type 1

Clinical manifestations of types I-III include TORTICOLLIS ; opisthotonus; HEADACHE ; VERTIGO ; VOCAL CORD PARALYSIS ; APNEA ; NYSTAGMUS, CONGENITAL ; swallowing difficulties [hon.ch]

Clinical manifestations of types I-III include TORTICOLLIS; opisthotonus; HEADACHE; VERTIGO; VOCAL CORD PARALYSIS; APNEA; NYSTAGMUS, CONGENITAL; swallowing difficulties; and [hon.ch]

Meningism

[…] degree angles, and subsequent extension in the knee is painful (leading to resistance).[6] This may indicate subarachnoid hemorrhage or meningitis.[7] Patients may also show opisthotonus—spasm [en.wikipedia.org]

Philodendron Poisoning

Gastrointestinal signs were succeeded by debilitation, twitching and trembling, and rarely opisthotonus was reported in animals after ingestion of Philodendron, and there [mybroadband.co.za]

With severe poisoning, coma and epileptiform seizure activity, or spastic and tonic movements, including opisthotonus without electroencephalographic seizure activity, may [clinicalgate.com]

Perinatal Lethal Gaucher Disease

Hypertelorism ; Hypokinesia ; Intrauterine growth retardation ; Low-set ears ; Microcephaly ; Micrognathia ; Microtia ; Narrow mouth ; Nonimmune hydrops fetalis ; Open mouth ; Opisthotonus [mousephenotype.org]

0008551 Narrow mouth Small mouth 0000160 Nonimmune hydrops fetalis 0001790 Open mouth Gaped jawed appearance Gaped mouthed appearance Slack jawed appearance [ more ] 0000194 Opisthotonus [rarediseases.info.nih.gov]

Gaucher disease type II is characterized by severe developmental delay, cachexia, seizures, horizontal gaze palsy, spasticity, neck retroflexion, opisthotonus, cortical thumbs [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

Maple Syrup Urine Disease

[…] of life with poor feeding and drowsiness followed by a worsening encephalopathy with lethargy, intermittent apnea, stereotypic movements ("fencing" and ''bicycling") and opisthotonus [orpha.net]

Progressive encephalopathy with lethargy, intermittent apnea, stereotyped movements (described as "fencing" and bicycling") and opisthotonus occur in the first few days of [orpha.net]

[…] hallucinations, anorexia, weight loss, anemia, diarrhea, vomiting, dehydration, lethargy, oscillating hypertonia and hypotonia, ataxia, seizures, hypoglycaemia, ketoacidosis, opisthotonus [en.wikipedia.org]

Arnold-Chiari Malformation Type 2

Clinical manifestations of types I-III include TORTICOLLIS; opisthotonus; HEADACHE; VERTIGO; VOCAL CORD PARALYSIS; APNEA; NYSTAGMUS, CONGENITAL; swallowing difficulties; and [hon.ch]

Clinical manifestations of types I-III include TORTICOLLIS ; opisthotonus; HEADACHE ; VERTIGO ; VOCAL CORD PARALYSIS ; APNEA ; NYSTAGMUS, CONGENITAL ; swallowing difficulties [hon.ch]

Ventricular Hemorrhage

The second presented 6 days after birth with irritability, opisthotonus, a tense fontanelle and tonic seizures. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]