Occipital condyle fracture in a victim of a motor vehicle collision

Occipital condyle fractures are rarely reported in the Emergency Medicine literature. It is unclear whether these fractures are rare or under-diagnosed. Occipital condyle fractures are associated with high-energy blunt trauma with significant cranial-cervical torque or axial loading. We report a case of a female patient with an occipital condyle fracture. The patient only complained of shoulder pain, but was found to have high cervical spine tenderness, after a moderate-speed front-end motor vehicle collision. Initial cervical spine radiographs were non-diagnostic. Computed tomography of the cervical spine demonstrated a non-displaced occipital condyle fracture. Conservative management with a semi-rigid cervical collar was successful in treating this patient’s fracture. A review of the literature covers the diagnosis, radiographic findings, and management of this fracture.