Crowned Dens Syndrome Masquerading as Meningitis

The classic symptoms of meningismus, including fever, neck stiffness, and headache, should automatically trigger a prime differential of meningitis, but a close masquerader, albeit rare, is crowned dens syndrome. Herein, we report the case of a 71-year-old woman with clinical features of meningismus with elevated inflammatory biomarkers. However, computed tomography of the cervical spine revealed the presence of calcium deposits encircling the dens. Hence, an alternate diagnosis of crowned dens syndrome was considered. This was confirmed by the presence of similar pathology in other joints and the dramatic resolution of symptoms and inflammatory markers with the administration of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.