Paresia VI par craneal por hematoma subdural retroclival y espinal postraumático: presentación de un caso y revisión de la literatura

introduction: retroclival posttraumatic hematomas are extremely rare and almost exclusive to childhood. only one case of retroclival subdural hematoma has been reported in the literature to date. case report: an 8-year-old boy suffered a severe head injury with cervical hyperextension as the result of a bicycle accident. on admission his initial glasgow coma score was 13 and he had diplopia due to right palsy of the vi nerve. a retroclival subdural hematoma was observed by ct and mri of the craneovertebral junction. management was conservative and a rigid collar was placed. palsy of vi nerve recovered spontaneously at 6 days and at discharge the patient had only cervical pain. follow up at 3 months after the accident showed clinical and radiological resolution. conclusion: traumatic retroclival hematomas are mainly a pediatric entity due to immaturity of the cranio-cervical junction. treatment consists of placement of a rigid collar although clinical progression may require surgical evacuation.