Brudzinsky's symptom is a group of special symptoms related to meningeal that arise as a result of irritation of the meninges.
Meningeal symptoms include drowsiness, severe headache, vomiting, and stupor. The very symptom of Brudzinsky is the flexion of the knees and hips in response to the patient's passive flexion of the neck. This is one of the most important early signs of diseases such as, for example,
subarachnoid hemorrhage or meningitis. It should be especially noted that this symptom can be observed both in adults and in children, although for younger patients it is more characteristic in case of meningeal disorders. At the same time, checking for the presence of the Brudzinsky sign does not apply to routine medical examinations.
The main causes of the symptom
As for the main reasons that can provoke its appearance, then, first of all, it is necessary to isolate an infection such as
bacterial meningitis. In this case, the symptom will be observed in a person only twenty-four hours after the onset of this disease. In addition, the Brudzinsky symptom can be fixed in acute form of arthritis of the spine. Also, this symptom can be determined two to three minutes after the onset of subarachnoid bleeding. In this case, in the latter case, and in the case of meningitis, meningeal disorders are noted due to accumulation of exudate or blood pressure around the nerve endings located in the spinal cord.
Five symptoms of Brudzinski
Currently, experts identify five main symptoms of Brudzinsky. Firstly, it is a zygomatic sign, determined by bending the knees in response to tapping on the so-called zygomatic arch. The average symptom of Brudzinsky, or, in another way, the pubic symptom, is fixed due to pressure on the pubic
joint. At the same time, the doctor also bends the patient's legs in the knee and hip joints. Pressure on the cheek below the zygomatic arch and raising the shoulders are the buccal symptom of Brudzinsky. The upper (occipital) symptom is determined by bending the patient's legs in the joints of the knee and hip type simultaneously with passive bending of the head. It should also be said about the fifth (lower) symptom. It is fixed at the moment when the patient, who is lying on his back, bends his leg in the area of the hip joint and unbends in the knee.
List of clinical indications
The manifestation of any of the listed Brudzinsky symptoms should be immediately reported to the doctor. This is due to the fact that a person with such signs, as a rule, is seriously ill, and he needs constant monitoring of vital indications and intracranial pressure. In addition, it is necessary to conduct neurological examinations and check cardiovascular activity. Brudzinsky's symptom also requires diagnostic procedures such as blood, urine, sputum and cerebrospinal fluid cultures.