Background: Lumbar puncture is a common procedure that can be safely performed in most patients. Certain populations may have increased risk for complications following lumbar puncture, but the significance of basilar invagination is often underappreciated.
Case description: A 45-year-old woman with basilar invagination received multiple lumbar punctures in the workup of acute meningitis. Preprocedural computed tomography was obtained. Following lumbar puncture, the patient developed locked-in syndrome. Magnetic resonance imaging obtained several days later demonstrated severe compression and infarction of the medulla and inferior cerebellum by the odontoid process and ectopic cerebellar tonsils. The patient was transferred but at this point, surgical decompression was not possible. She did not regain significant neurologic function.
Conclusions: Basilar invagination is a risk factor for devastating neurologic complications following lumbar puncture. Awareness of this complication and prompt recognition of its occurrence may prevent future morbidity of lumbar puncture in patients with basilar invagination.
Keywords: Basilar invagination; Craniocervical junction; Locked-in syndrome; Lumbar puncture.
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