Confusion after spine injury: cerebral fat embolism after traumatic rupture of a Tarlov cyst: Case report

BACKGROUND: Acute low back pain is a very common symptom and reason for many medical consultations. In some unusual circumstances it could be linked to a rare aetiology. CASE PRESENTATION: We report a 70-year-old man with an 8-month history of left posterior thigh and leg pain who had sudden confusion after a fall from standing. It was due to cerebral fat embolism suspected by computed tomography scan, later confirmed by brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). A spinal MRI scan was then performed and revealed a sacral fracture which drained into an unknown perineurial cyst (Tarlov cyst). Under medical observation the patient fully recovered within three weeks. CONCLUSIONS: Sacral perineurial cysts are rare, however they remain a potential cause of lumbosacral radiculopathy.