WORLD JOURNAL OF ADVANCE
HEALTHCARE RESEARCH

*Omar Sulaiman Jalood Al-Sadoon, Dr. Thamer A. Hamdan, Dr.Ahmed Siwan Atwan, Dr. Darren F. Lui, Dr. Mohammed Abdul Hasan Al-Gharbawi, Dr. Ali Samir Y. Al-Shakerji

ABSTRACT

Background: Cervical spondylosis refers to degenerative changes in the cervical spine, often beginning in the intervertebral discs, resulting in bony protrusions that affect adjacent soft tissues. Cervical spondylitis can also compress the vertebral arteries externally, especially when the head is rotated and extended. This makes it an extrinsic factor that later leads to posterior circulation infarction. Objectives: To evaluate the role of cervical spondylosis as a risk factor for posterior cerebrovascular accident. Methods: The study design is a case-control, it was conducted at Basra Teaching Hospital and Al-Salam and Ibn Sina Teaching Hospitals in Mosul. The questionnaire was divided into five sections: the first section covered sociodemographic factors, the second section covered the patients past medical history, the third section covered the patients past surgical history, the fourth section covered details of cervical spondylitis, and the fifth section covered radiographic findings. Patients with renal or hepatic impairment, those under the age of 18, and patients with insufficient data or who did not consent to share their data were excluded from the study. Ultimately, 60 patients were enrolled in the study and divided into two groups (cases with posterior stroke and a control group without posterior stroke), each comprising 30 patients. Results: The study included 35 males and 25 females. The mean age of the participants ± standard deviation was 59.29 ± 11.76 years. A significant association with posterior stroke and a statistically significant difference between the two groups were found regarding the presence of cervical spondylitis (odds ratio = 3.763), duration of cervical spondylitis (odds ratio = 1.322), presence of cervical spondylosis-related neurological deficit (odds ratio = 3.110), and presence of previous cerebrovascular events (odds ratio = 2.666). No significant association or difference was observed regarding the presence of cervical spine injury or surgery. In addition, there was a statistically significant difference between patients with and without cervical spondylitis with respect to age (P < 0.001), residence (P = 0.004), occupation (P < 0.001), illiteracy level (P < 0.001), family history of cervical spondylitis (P < 0.001), overweight and obesity (P < 0.001), diabetes (P < 0.001), hypertension (P < 0.001) and smoking (P < 0.001). Conclusions: Cervical spondylosis is a risk factor for posterior circulation stroke, but this stroke may be unexpected. Other risk factors found in this study include male gender, advanced age, rural residence, illiteracy, overweight and obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, and smoking. Creating an awareness campaign on posterior circulation stroke prevention and emphasizing the need for regular cervical spine screening is crucial to reducing these risk factors.