An Unusual Case of Early-onset Ankylosing Spondylitis with Predominant Cervical Spine Involvement

Introduction: Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a chronic, inflammatory disease of the axial spine characterized by the involvement of the spine and sacroiliac (SI) joints. Increasing spinal stiffness and persistent back pain are the most typical symptoms of this systemic illness. The most often affected areas in AS are the lumbosacral spine and the sacroiliac joints.

Case report: We report this uncommon case of a 30-year-old male patient recently diagnosed with AS having an exclusive cervical spine involvement corroborated by X-rays and magnetic resonance imaging.

Conclusion: The results of the lumbosacral spine, fingers, chest, and sacroiliac joint examinations were normal. The examination of the sacroiliac joint, lumbosacral spine, chest, and digits was normal. The pain and neck stiffness were partially relieved by pharmacotherapy (NSAIDS) and physiotherapy. This is a rare presentation of AS, the reported literature on such case reports are very rare.