The Journal of the Louisiana State Medical Society : official organ of the Louisiana State Medical Society
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Accurate scientific predictions of the true human health outcomes of global climate change are significantly confounded by several effect modifiers that cannot be adjusted for analytically. Nevertheless, with the documented increase in average global surface temperature of 0.6 C. since 1975, there is uniform consensus in the international scientific community that the earth is warming from a variety of climatic effects, including cyclical re-warming and the cascading effects of greenhouse gas emissions to support human activities.
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Occipito-atlantal dislocation (OAD) is a rare but often lethal type of spinal injury that can be found in up to 35% of traffic fatalities. Improved pre-hospital care, diagnosis, and immobilization of these patients have led to an increase in reported cases of survivors. Significant ligamentous disruption in OAD results in craniocervical instability. ⋯ Once this is established, immobilization followed by occipitocervical fusion is recommended. We present a case of a patient who survived for a brief period of time after being hit by a vehicle and who was found to have OAD. We discuss the pathophysiology, imaging, clinical findings, and treatment for this type of spinal injury.