Acute neck pain and fever as the first manifestation of chondrocalcinosis with calcification of the transverse ligament of the atlas. Five case-reports with a literature review.

We report five cases of acute neck pain with fever in patients with diffuse articular chondrocalcinosis and computed tomography evidence of calcification of the transverse ligament of the atlas. A review of the relevant literature illustrated the high frequency of this condition, the variability of clinical presentations ranging from episodes of acute neck pain with fever to compression of the proximal spinal cord, the value of computed tomography for determining the site of the calcific deposits and assessing the lesions, and the possibility of deposition of both calcium pyrophosphate dihydrate and hydroxyapatite crystals in the same patient.