Abstract
IntroductionFirearm injuries account for 13% to 17% of all spinal cord injuries, and are generally caused during warfare or assault with intent to kill. Spinal cord injuries caused by firearms are usually observed in patients aged 15 to 34 years old, and are especially common among men.Case presentationWe report the case of a 28-year-old Iraqi man who was referred to our radiology department with lower limb paraplegia secondary to a gunshot wound. We performed 64-slice computerized tomography with two-dimensional and three-dimensional reconstruction of the thoracolumbar spine. On the two-dimensional and three-dimensional reconstructed axial images of the thoracolumbar spine, an intra-canalicular bullet nucleus was found at the mid-spinal cord at the T8 level, with no evidence of vertebral bone destruction.ConclusionsTo the best of our knowledge, there is only one previous report in the literature describing a case of a bullet nucleus lodged into the inferior epidural spinal canal without destruction of the vertebral bone. With the rise of violence worldwide the incidence of gunshot injuries continues to increase, and, thus, it is essential for radiologists to have a clear understanding of gunshot injuries and the findings on radiographic images.
Highlights
Firearm injuries account for 13% to 17% of all spinal cord injuries, and are generally caused during warfare or assault with intent to kill
To the best of our knowledge, there is only one previous report in the literature describing a case of a bullet nucleus lodged into the inferior epidural spinal canal without destruction of the vertebral bone
On the two-dimensional and three-dimensional reconstruction of the axial computerized tomography (CT) images of thoracolumbar spine, an intra-canalicular bullet nucleus was found at the mid-spinal cord at the T8 level, without any evidence of vertebral bone destruction (Figure 1)
Summary
To the best of our knowledge, there is only one previous report in the literature [5] describing a case of a bullet nucleus lodged into the inferior epidural spinal canal without any destruction of vertebral bony tissues. With the rise of armed violence worldwide, the incidence of gunshot injuries continues to increase and, it is essential for radiologists to have a clear understanding of gunshot injuries and their radiographic imaging, especially gunshot wounds to the spine that are the most problematic of all these injuries. Consent Written informed consent was obtained from the patient for publication of this case report and any accompanying images. Authors’ contributions JH interpreted our patient’s MRI results and supervised the writing of the manuscript. MJ was a major contributor to writing the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript. Competing interests The authors declare that they have no competing interests
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
