Elevated inflammatory laboratory parameters in spontaneous cervical artery dissection as compared to traumatic dissection: a retrospective case-control study.

Several studies have reported infection as a possible risk factor for cervical artery dissection (CAD). We retrospectively analyzed several inflammatory parameters of CAD patients with the aim of detecting differences between spontaneous (n = 25) and traumatic (n = 18) CAD. In this case-control study, we observed significantly higher absolute leucocyte values (10.3 versus 8.1 G/L; p = 0.02) as well as an elevated frequency of leucocytosis (64% versus 28%; p = 0.02) and elevated CRP (60% versus 28%; p = 0.04) in patients without a history of trauma ("spontaneous" CAD) compared with patients with trauma-related CAD. As the elevated inflammatory laboratory parameters were not associated with an elevated infection rate, these findings imply a role of an acute inflammation as a pathogenetic factor in spontaneous CAD. The cause and mechanism of the inflammatory process remain unknown.