© 2005 BMJ Publishing Group Ltd, British Association for Accident & Emergency Medicine, & Faculty of Accident & Emergency Medicine
CASE REPORT
Severe interscapular pain and increased creatine kinase activity: the answer was in the ankles
Correspondence to:
Correspondence to:
Dr P González-Alegre
Department of Neurology, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, 200 Hawkins Drive, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA; gonzalezp{at}mail.medicine.uiowa.edu
Severe thoracic back pain with increased creatine kinase activity is a clinical presentation that suggests a variety of life threatening conditions. If initial examination is unrevealing, multiple diagnostic tests are usually performed attempting to identify the origin of the problem, sometimes neglecting apparently unrelated subtle physical findings. A patient is described in whom this was the initial presentation of a sensory demyelinating neuropathy, resulting in a diagnostic challenge. This case expands the differential diagnosis of severe thoracic back pain and increased creatine kinase activity, and illustrates the importance of physical examination in reaching a final diagnosis.
Abbreviations: CK, creatine kinase; GBS, Guillain-Barre syndrome
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