A Neck Pain Alone Causing Death?

Neck pain is pain in or around the spine beneath the head. It is a common symptom of many injuries and medical conditions which can be acute or chronic. Common causes of neck pain are increased physical strain, trauma, osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, meningitis, tumours of spine etc. Most cases of acute neck pain can resolve with or without treatment. But red flags which may signify serious pathologies such as myelopathy, atlantoaxial subluxation, meningitis, metastasis etc. should be promptly identified. A 29 year old male with complaints of neck pain was brought to the casualty of a local hospital in Thiruvananthapuram and expired after 6 hours due to cardiac arrest. The autopsy revealed a mass in the fourth ventricle. Cause of death was brain oedema following tumour in fourth ventricle.