Prevalence and pattern of cervical rib, transversomegaly and other vertebral anomalies in normal adult cervical spine in Kumaon region of Uttarakhand, India

Abstract

Background: A supernumary rib from seventh cervical vertebra is called cervical rib and is a common anomaly. Its true prevalence is not validated as most of these are asymptomatic thus do not get diagnosed. Its incidence has been reported in several geographic regions and ethnic clusters. Most of the studies rely on radiological data collected from evaluation of chest or neck radiographs of defined numbers.

Methods: A similar study to ascertain its presence and incidence, apart from sexual and morphological pattern is required for Kumaon region of Uttarakhand, India. The present study reports data extracted from study of 1500 radiographs and evaluating them for presence of cervical rib and other abnormalities. Demographic and other relevant details were noted.

Results: Most of the cases were female and almost all cases of cervical rib or transversomegaly were bilateral. 0.8% and 1.4% cases were noted for cervical rib and transversomegaly respectively. Apart from it, 4 cases of vertebrae fusion and one case of hemi-vertebra leading to cervical scoliosis was also noted.

Conclusions: The prevalence of cervical rib was comparable to other studies considering the sample size. The calculation of true incidence however will require multi-discipline collaboration and robust data. This study, however, is important for further work in this regard and adds value to existing literature.