Brudzinski’s Sign: Difference between revisions

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To elicit the Kernig's sign, the patient is kept in supine position, hip and knee are flexed to a right angle, and then the knee is slowly extended by the examiner. The appearance of resistance or pain during extension of the patient's knees beyond 135 degrees constitutes a positive Kernig's sign
In a quiet environment with the client resting in a supine position:


Patient lies supine<br>• Flex neck, bringing chin to chest<br>• Positive sign is involuntary flexing of hips. <br><br>  
Gently grasp the patient's head from behind and place the other hand on the patient's chest<br>• Gently flex the neck, bringing chin to chest<br>• Positive sign is involuntary flexing of hips and knees (an involuntary reaction to lessen the stretch on the inflamed meninges)<br><br>  


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[[Category:Special_Tests]]
[[Category:Special_Tests]]
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Revision as of 21:22, 7 January 2019

Description[edit | edit source]

Brudzinski's sign is one of the physically demonstrable symptoms of meningitis. Severe neck stiffness causes a patient's hips and knees to flex when the neck is flexed.[1]

Purpose[edit | edit source]

Indicates meningeal irritation.[2]

Technique

In a quiet environment with the client resting in a supine position:

• Gently grasp the patient's head from behind and place the other hand on the patient's chest
• Gently flex the neck, bringing chin to chest
• Positive sign is involuntary flexing of hips and knees (an involuntary reaction to lessen the stretch on the inflamed meninges)

Evidence[3][edit | edit source]

Sensitivity: 5; Specificity: 95; Positive likelihood ratio: 0.97; Negative likelihood ratio: 1.0

See test diagnostics page for an explanation of statistics.


References[edit | edit source]

  1. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/imagepages/19069.htm
  2. Introduction to Emergency Medicine edited by Elizabeth Mitchell, Ron Medzon. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2005
  3. Karen E. Thomas, Rodrigo Hasbun, James Jekel, Vincent J. Quagliarello. The Diagnostic Accuracy of Kernig's Sign, Brudzinski's Sign, and Nuchal Rigidity in Adults with Suspected Meningitis. Clin Infect Dis. (2002) 35 (1): 46-52.

[1]

  1. Manmohan Mehndiratta, Rajeev Nayak, Hitesh Garg, Munish Kumar, and Sanjay Pandey (2012). Appraisal of Kernig's and Brudzinski's sign in meningitis.Ann Indian Acad Neurol. 2012 Oct-Dec; 15(4): 287–288. doi: 10.4103/0972-2327.104337