Cerebrospinal Fluid Rhinorrhea and Subsequent Bacterial Meningitis due to an Atypical Clival Fracture

Cases of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) rhinorrhea due to clival fracture are rare. We present a case of bacterial meningitis with CSF rhinorrhea after a clival fracture. Heavily T2-weighted images showed a bone flap in the thinned clivus and fluid collection in the sphenoid sinus. CSF rhinorrhea developed at 1 month after mild trauma. The fracture may have been caused by the trauma and/or by the pressure gradient between the intracranial CSF space and the sphenoid sinus. A detailed history to identify trauma and an examination to detect bone defects in the skull base are necessary when patients present with bacterial meningitis and persistent rhinorrhea.