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

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.

Particular precautions and the role of intraoperative neuromonitoring in cervical cord injury in elder recreational cyclist: A case report

“…Unfortunately, during this time gap before the regeneration process can be expected, bradycardia as the most common cardiac arrhythmia following CCI complicates the post-operative period in this patient. Bradycardia and cardiac arrest following CCI have both been described immediately after and in the days following CCI [16] . Although this condition may not directly cause death in our patient, it extended the hospitalization along with the risk of hospital-acquired pneumonia either from the length of stay or from the ventilator device.…”