Lumbar Pneumorrhachis Associated With Basilar Skull Fractures

Lumbar pneumorrhachis following head injury is rare and commonly asymptomatic but can be indicative of skull fracture and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leak, which may warrant intervention. A PubMed review of the literature was performed using a keyword search to identify cases examining lumbar pneumorrhachis following head injury. Our case series included two patients who had lumbar pneumorrhachis between September 2019 and May 2020 at our center. The literature review summarizes 16 patients from 14 prior reports of pneumorrhachis. In our two-patient case series, neither patient required direct intervention for either pneumorrhachis or CSF leak. Pneumorrhachis is rare following an isolated head injury and is associated with basilar skull fractures and CSF leak. Pneumorrhachis should alert clinicians to the possibility of a CSF leak, which may require intervention.