Characteristics of patients
| Characteristics | Patients | % |
|---|---|---|
| No. of patients | 47 | |
| No. of carotid arteries | 49 | |
| Sex ratio (women/men) | 27/18; 1.5:1 | |
| Median age (yr) (IQR) | 48 (39–56) | |
| At least 1 vascular risk factor | 22 | 47% |
| High blood pressure | 8 | 17% |
| Dyslipidemia | 3 | 6% |
| Mellitus diabetes | 0 | 0% |
| Smoking | 19 | 40% |
| History of autoimmune disease | 8 | 17% |
| History of vascular event | 2 | 4% |
| Recent history of viral episode | 2 | 4% |
| Recent history of cervical chiropractic manipulation | 0 | 0% |
| Recent history of cervical trauma | 1 | 2% |
| Acute neck tenderness or cervical pain | 47 | 100% |
| Affected side (left/right) | 28/21 | |
| Bilateral involvement | 2 | 4% |
| Median pain intensity (10-point scale) (IQR) | 5 (3–6) | |
| Cervical swelling or palpable abnormality over the carotid bifurcation | 6 | 13% |
| Enlarged lymph nodes at palpation | 8 | 17% |
| Fever | 2 | 4% |
| Flu-like symptoms | 1 | 2% |
| Neurologic-associated symptoms | 8 | 17% |
| No abnormal biologic test findings | 42 | 89% |
| Biologic inflammatory syndrome (elevated ESR or CRP) | 3 | 6% |
| Positive serum IgM | 2/18 | 11% |
| Treatments | 37 | 79% |
| Anti-inflammatory treatment | 34 | 72% |
| Steroids | 3 | 6% |
| Follow-up | 47 | 100% |
| Median follow-up duration (days) (IQR) | 163 (88–354) | |
| Full clinical recovery (SD) | 47 | 100% |
| Mean recovery delay (days) (IQR) | 13 (10–15) | |
| Relapse | 9 | 19% |
| Median delay before relapse (mo) | 6 | |
| Persistence of abnormal laboratory test findings | 0 | 0% |
Note:—ESR indicates erythrocyte sedimentation rate; CRP, C-reactive protein; IgM, immunoglobulin-M; IQR, interquartile range.