Road bike accidents involving cervical fractures presenting as cardiac arrest: a report of two cases

• Main Authors: Anne Marie Kabell Nissen, Louise Gramstrup Nielsen, Søren Mikkelsen, Anne Craveiro Brøchner
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: BMC 2019-07-01
• Series: Scandinavian Journal of Trauma, Resuscitation and Emergency Medicine
• Subjects: Cervical spine fracture; Cardiac arrest
• Online Access: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s13049-019-0641-3

Abstract We present two cases in which elderly male recreational cyclists suffered from cervical fractures and coinciding injuries of the spinal cord that subsequently led to cardiac arrest. Based on reports from eye witnesses and due to the low impact nature of the crashes, the two patients were initially considered as having cardiac arrest before falling of their bikes. The spinal cord injuries triggering cardiac arrest were acknowledged with delay, as the primary eliciting cause was considered cardiac disease in conjunction with all-out exercise. We suggest that increased focus should be made on possible cervical injuries even following low energy crashes in road cycling.