A 23-year-old woman was brought by an ambulance to the emergency room. She had been in a fight and had been stabbed in the back at a midthoracic level with a butcher knife. A sensory examination revealed a loss of vibratory sense in the right ankle and loss of position sense in the great toe of the right foot. Pain and temperature sensation on the left side was lost below the umbilicus. She was unable to move her right lower extremity, and stretch reflexes were absent in that limb. One month later the sensory deficits were still present. At this time the reflexes in the right lower extremity were hyperactive, and an extensor plantar response (sign of Babinski) was present on the right. However, her right limb was still weak. Her condition did not change substantially at follow-up examinations over the next several years.
Added by Dolores C.
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What is the patient's chief complaint or reason for being brought to the emergency room? - The patient was stabbed in the back during a fight. Show more…
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